Decisions and Dominoes
by Flashpoint33
Summary: Beckett is in DC and Castle is in NYC - Post Watershed - with all spoilers inherently in play. Decisions have been made and stands taken, but someone from their past will force them to face one another one more time. Will Caskette conquer all? This is my first fanfiction EVER! Cover art by dtrekker - Castle 2013 Ficathon entry-Rating M for some language and later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N First thing- I am a die hard Caskette shipper...some parts are tough to read...they were tough to write...just keep the faith.**_

_****__**Follow me on Twitter at KJF3333 – so many great Castle fans make for fun and interesting conversations. I tend to post when chapter updates are coming, hints, sneak peaks, and links to new chapters. **_

_**About this story- First fanfic ever- and had I realized the broad scope of the fandom universe I might never have written it at all. Truthfully, I thought maybe 20 people might see it. What started out as an individual challenge to see if I could write a 50,000 word story in three months, has turned into an adventure I was allowed to share with many. The people on this site are truly some of the best out there in the ether- thank you for coming along and actively participating in the process. This story is in large part what it is because of the readers, reviewers and followers who invested in it along with me. It has been a blast. - K**_

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 1

Katharine Beckett stood staring out her DC apartment window allowing a momentary slip in her iron resolve to be a hundred percent committed to her new life. The sun was just beginning to rise and she studied it like she used to study her murder boards at the 12th looking for answers. Her thoughts rushed unchecked to New York City and all she had left behind. Her father's ever present uncensored advice, best friend and conscience Lanie, loyal partners Ryan and Espo, and of course, Castle all fought for her emotional attention.

This was not the first summer that Beckett had spent apart from her old life. Summer seemed to be a time of change for her; a time when space was used to gain perspective. And control. It was always about control. The summer after the shooting she spent at her dad's cabin, the summer Castle was in the Hamptons with his ex-wife Gina when he believed she had chosen Demming and now this summer. The summer after she turned down Castle's proposal and had chosen her work. Her future. Her life.

"Katie, when you are scared you hide in your work," she heard her father's words playing over in her head.

Kate shoved what felt like an accusation from her consciousness only to have it replaced by Royce's warning, "Putting the job ahead of your heart is a mistake. Risking our hearts is why we are alive. The last thing you want is to look back on your life and wonder if only…"

The memories continued uncontrolled, "Katharine Houghton Beckett, will you marry me?" Rick's voice echoed through to her center circumventing her defenses in the way only his could.

"Castle," Kate remembered her exact words, "I got the job in DC." She registered the pain in his face and swore she heard his heart break as she explained to him how this was something she had to do on her own. That this job would take all of her. That right now she had nothing for him.

Kate didn't know what she had expected from Rick Castle in that moment, but it was not for him to simply rise from his knees and gaze down at her with acceptance and resignation, "Goodbye, Kate. I hope it's everything you want it to be." Those were the last words that she heard from him. Her DC position started immediately and when she had gone to the loft and the 12th to gather her belongings, Castle had been nowhere to be found and she didn't feel she had the right to ask anyone at either location where he was.

Unable to endure anymore time wrestling with her own mind, Kate wrenched her gaze from the window and moved to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. It was time to get ready to embrace her choice for another day. It was time to go to work.

The past work week had been a bitch. Sure the hours were long, but what really frustrated her was how confined she felt. She had chosen this job to do more and what she found was that she was doing less. She hadn't thought about what it would mean to go from being the lead detective calling the shots on every case to the inexperienced agent following directions. It wasn't a position that Kate relished in the least. It made her edgy and restless and that was never a good combination.

-O-O-I-O-O-O-O-O-O-O- O- O

"Castle! Damn, bro, what took you so long?" Esposito called across the squad room when the elevator's doors opened and Castle stepped out.

"Sorry. Sorry, believe it or not, I overslept," Castle explained throwing his jacket over the back of his chair that now sat between Ryan and Espo's desk facing away from where Beckett's desk still sat empty.

"Mr. Castle, may I have a word?" Gates called to him standing in her office doorway.

Castle made a face like he'd just gotten called down the principal's office, "Oooh, someone's in trouble," Ryan teased entering the room just in time to hear Gates summon Castle.

"If I'm not back in five minutes, come for me?" he whispered urgently.

Espo nodded, "We got your back, Castle."

As Castle walked away and into the lionesses den Ryan gave him a thumbs-up and when he was out of earshot said, "I'm not going in there."

Esposito nodded in agreement, "No way, bro."

Gates waited for Castle behind her desk, "Sit down, Mr. Castle."

"Umm…sure..okay. Is there a problem, Sir?"

Gates actually smiled at Castle, "I got a call from the mayor today."

"I didn't do it," Castle blurted.

"Do what?"

"Whatever it is," he continued.

"Calm down. The mayor wanted to know how things were going with you being here without Detective Beckett," she told him taking a seat.

"Oh?" Castle's hands started to sweat a little bit. Here it comes he thought.

"I have to say, Mr. Castle that I have been…," she paused and Castle's eyes widened as he waited for the proverbial ax to fall, "impressed."

"Really?" Castle almost squeaked in surprise.

Gates laughed softly, "It's no secret that I have not been your biggest fan."

"Uh, no, that most certainly has not been a secret. I think I even saw it on Page 6 once," he quipped.

Gate's smile faded, "Don't push it."

"Um, no Sir, sorry," he smiled his best photo shoot smile at her not knowing what else to do.

"Truthfully, I didn't know if you would continue to be an asset to this department once Beckett left, but you have proved me wrong. Case closure rates for your team are higher than ever."

Castle interjected like a puppy who had just received a treat, "You're admitting I'm an asset to the department, Sir?"

Gates stared him down again. It worked. He stopped talking.

"I told the mayor just that and since you two are poker buddies, I thought I would tell you myself versus you hearing it second hand from him. I felt you've earned that."

Castle's tension had been a palpable thing in the room when he didn't know what was coming from Gates. He visibly relaxed and stood reaching across her desk to offer his hand, "Thank you, Captain. That means a lot coming from you."

Gates shook his hand and meant it, "The last few months could have gone either way for you. I didn't know if you had it in you. After Kate took the DC job, I figured you would be out, but you surprised me. You surprised a lot of people."

Castle glanced at the floor momentarily to give himself time to steady his voice, "You know, Sir, I wasn't sure I had it in me either."

Gates returned to full captain mode, "Now this does not mean you are free to run amok in my precinct like a five year old with a bag of Halloween candy, Mr. Castle."

Castle smiled, "I understand, Sir."

Gates hid her smile behind her eyes, but Castle saw it, "Be sure that you do. Dismissed."


	2. Chapter 2

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 2

Kate wasn't due in to work for another hour. She toyed with the idea of going in early, but decided to have a second cup of coffee instead. She grimaced as she did each morning with the first sip of each cup. Yes, it tasted like warm monkey pee and battery acid, but it reminded her of home and she found that oddly comforting. Kate likened those first sips of each cup to shooting tequila. After you get the first one down, there's nothing to it.

Glancing at the clock, Kate ventured to guess that Lanie would already be at the morgue starting her day. She grabbed her phone and smiled with anticipation as she pressed speed dial 2. This was the best way she could think of to burn a few minutes.

Three rings later she was rewarded with an animated Lanie, "Beckett! Hey, girl, how are you?"

Kate couldn't help but grin more broadly at Lanie's unbridled enthusiasm, "Hey, yourself. I'm doing great, Lanie, really great. How about you?"

"Uh, oh. What's going on? I know that tone," Lanie had a way of zeroing in when it came to Kate.

How does she do that, Kate wondered, "What tone? I'm just on my way to work in a bit and thought I would check-in."

"Uh huh, whatever Kate Beckett. You don't have to tell me now, but you know you will at some point. It's your dime," Lanie's confidence had Kate rolling her eyes at the phone.

"So, how is everyone?" Kate hoped to shift the topic away from herself.

Lanie noticed, but didn't push, "Everyone here is good. We miss you, of course, but people are still committing murder and homicide is tracking them down and putting them behind bars with a little help from yours truly."

Kate's eyebrows arched, "So the cases are going well?"

"Yah, they are. It's actually been quite a ride since you've been gone."

"Really?" Kate knew she was fishing for information, and she hoped Lanie wouldn't notice.

Lanie blurted a response not taking any time to think about how Kate might receive it, "Well, things are never boring with Castle in the mix. You know that better than anyone."

Lanie punched the speaker button and sat the phone down on an examination table so she could get the hot water going for her morning tea. Just then the morgue doors flew open and Esposito and Ryan came barreling in loudly discussing Gates' conversation with Castle the night before.

"I would have sworn she was going to chew Castle's ass off about sneaking coffee into a crime scene again. LT was so pissed I was sure he was gonna rat Castle out to Gates. Can you believe it? She actually called him an asset to the team?" Kevin shook his head in disbelief, but his expansive grin showed how pleased he really was.

Esposito punched Ryan playfully in the arm, "And you were wrong my brother from another mother. Where's my twenty?"

Kevin grimaced as he handed over the bill, "You know I am going to be a father soon. That twenty could have bought your god son or daughter a package of diapers."

Espo was about to respond when Lanie interrupted, "Hey, guys, Beckett's on the phone."

Kate had heard every word. Castle was still working at the precinct? Gates hadn't kicked him out the minute she left for DC? Castle an asset to the team? What team?

In unison the boys greeted Kate rather automatically and with little emotion, "Hey, Beckett."

Espo added feeling like he should, "How's life at Club FED?"

Kate laughed in spite of herself, "It's great, Espo; really great." Kate winced at hearing herself repeat the same canned response she had given Lanie minutes earlier.

"What are you two juvenile delinquents doing in my morgue? I don't have any fresh ones for you this morning," Lanie asked getting caught up in their good mood and slightly distracted from her phone call.

Esposito's phone rang and he stepped away to answer it leaving Kevin to brief Lanie, "We're here to make sure you are coming tonight. 7:30 and we've been told not to be late or we might miss the surprise."

Esposito was off the phone, grabbing Ryan by the jacket and pulling him toward the door, "That was Castle. We got a body drop."

Ryan nodded and allowed himself to be pulled toward the door without resisting, "Hey, Beckett, take care."

"Castle is texting you the address, Lanie. Come on, bro, we gotta move or he'll get to drive again," Esposito warned his partner.

Kevin's face froze briefly before a quick smile took it over and he shook free from Espo and bolted out the door, "I got shotgun!"

Lanie laughed as they left quickly realizing that Kate was still on the line, "Sorry, Kate, you know how they can be."

Kate's emotions were even more unsteady now than when she had originally called. She had expected a nice grounding chat with her best friend, but instead she had new information that she didn't quite know how to process, "I didn't know Castle was still working at the precinct. I just assumed that he would quit after I left or that Gates would show him the door before my plane could land in DC."

Lanie picked up the phone and took it off speaker, "I did too, Kate. I think we all thought that. The only days he's missed were while you were still in town, and the morning after you left, he was here and has been here ever since."

"Wow," was all Kate could think of to say.

"I really thought he would completely disappear like he has done in the past, but he's been like a man on fire; it's as if he has something to prove. He's different but I can't put my finger on exactly what it is," Lanie explained as though she was clarifying her own thoughts about Castle.

Not knowing what else to do, Kate changed the subject again, "So, uh, you guys have plans tonight?"

"Yah, we're hitting up The Haunt tonight," Lanie's level of distraction had increased dramatically. Kate could visualize what she was doing. She was prepping to head out to the new murder scene.

"The guys mentioned a surprise," Kate hated herself for digging.

"You know Castle, Beckett. He's always got something up his sleeve," Lanie answered her almost absently.

Kate stood up realizing the conversation was over and it was time to end it.

"Sweetie, I really have to get to the scene before the three stooges mess anything up. It was so good to hear from you. And when you're ready to tell me what's on your mind, you know where to find me."

"Sure, of course, I do. Talk to you soon," the phone disconnected before Kate's last words could hit the first cell tower.

The apartment fell into a familiar if disconcerting silence that Kate had come to know well over the last few months. Most of the time she welcomed it, but not today. Today the silence coupled with the information she had gotten from the phone call was more than she could effectively wrap her mind around. She quickly made a shot out of the dregs of her coffee and bolted out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 3

Castle pulled up to the 168th Street subway station grinning wildly, if inappropriately, since they were on their way to a murder scene. The sedan screeched to a stop partly on the sidewalk sirens and lights full on. Esposito and Ryan were quick to exit the vehicle.

"Give me the keys, Castle," Espo demanded holding out his hand. He didn't appear to be amused.

"Aww, come on, Sito," Castle moaned still grinning. "Wasn't that fun?"

Ryan and Esposito answered in unison, "No!"

"Now give me the damn keys before I break your keyboarding fingers."

Castle made an offended face and tossed the keys Ryan's way in half-hearted defiance as they headed down the subway stairs, "You are no fun, Espo. No fun at all."

When Espo had gotten a little bit ahead of them Ryan confided, "That was fun, bro. He drives like my grandmother."

Castle's childlike grin returned, "I know, right?"

Espo approached the uniformed officer guarding the crime scene, "What've we got?"

The officer motioned on to the tracks, "Not sure. See for yourself."

Espo, Ryan and Castle moved to the edge of the platform and looked over. "Damn, is that a person?" Esposito asked turning his head sideways to try and make it out.

Castle chimed in, "It was."

"Alright you three, get away from my body," Lanie called to them from the base of the steps. Her curiosity about what she was about to see was peaked from the way all three of them were turning their heads from side to side as if trying to figure out a puzzle.

Ryan backed away first, "This one's all yours."

Lanie followed Castles shocked gaze, "Whoa. Now that's just wrong."

"Power to the tracks is off!" a voice called from the other side of the platform.

The three men didn't move, "Uh, one of you is coming with me down on the tracks. Who's it gonna be?"

Castle pointed at Espo and Espo and Ryan pointed at Castle. "Et tu Brute?" Castle shot toward Ryan.

"Sorry, Castle," Ryan told him with a shrug.

Espo laughed as Castle jumped down onto the tracks and helped Lanie with the drop. When Castle's back was turned Ryan and Espo shared a fist bump, "Partner bond, bro, partner bond."

As badly damaged as the remains were, Lanie was able to tell that the victim was a female in her 20's. She had her suspicions that she was dead before she was hit by the train, but would have to wait until she got her back to the lab to be sure. Knowing she had done all she could onsite, she called for the CSU guys to come and do their thing before she ordered the removal of the body.

Glancing up at Castle, she found herself studying him since he was busy studying the walls of the tunnel. In a moment of shared silence, Lanie almost told him she had talked to Beckett that morning, but she stopped herself. She knew bringing it up would only cause him pain. Her conversation with Kate had left her concern at heightened levels. While watching him awareness came to Lanie that her concerns were not just for Kate. In fact, it was becoming clear to her that they were more for Castle than for her friend.

Castle had been through a lot and at the moment he appeared to be holding it together if only by the thinnest of threads. Lanie found herself not wanting anything to shake the ground under his feet. He was too wounded to sustain another emotional blow. Of that she was certain. She realized in that moment that he had come to be more to her than Kate's ex-boyfriend, or Espo and Ryan's playmate. The two had somehow become friends in their own right, she truly cared for him and he needed her protection. And she was going to give it to him even if it meant protecting him from her best friend.

"Hey, Lanie, didn't this station used to be called Washington Heights?" Castle quizzed.

Lanie snapped out of her musings, "Ummm, yes, I think so, why?"

"Because this was a body dump, not a murder by subway train," Castle offered without explanation.

Lanie's eyebrows arched in curiosity as she considered how Castle had come to the same conclusion she had, but something about his demeanor kept her from asking.

"We're done, doc," the CSUs announced.

Castle was still staring at the wall, "Come on writer boy, let's get out of here."

Castle's earlier ear to ear grin had been replaced by a stoic unreadable face. Lanie had seen that face before and she inwardly braced herself for everything it might bring.


	4. Chapter 4

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 4

When Kate arrived at the AG Task Force offices, she found that somehow she was the last one there even though technically she was over thirty minutes early. This meant that she was behind and she didn't like it because being behind meant she wasn't in control. The energy in the room buzzed in her ears as she worked her way through the throng of agents; each focused on a singularly crucial task. She looked for and found Agent Stack in the tech room overseeing what looked to be a search matrix. Stepping into the room she waited, Stack glanced back but didn't speak – at least not to her.

"I need this done now, Holland," Stack barked at the tech agent who sat furiously typing in each piece of information that was being lobbed at him from at least eight different agents at the same time. Descriptions of vehicles, clothing the suspect was last seen wearing, victim descriptions, CSU reports, and names of witnesses were all coming in at a frenetic pace. It was like nothing Kate had ever experienced before.

Kate moved closer to Stack, "What can I do, sir?"

Stack didn't look up, "For now, stay out of the way. I don't have time to brief you. Just watch and learn."

Kate's frustration level had been elevated before she had ever gotten to work, but now it was red-lining. A random unwelcome thought pulled her up short. Oh god, how many times had she told Castle to stay out of the way during the five years that they had worked together? Her stomach twisted uncomfortably as she realized how she must have made him feel each and every time she relegated him to the sidelines.

"Got it!" Holland announced to the room.

"On screen," Stack ordered. He took a spot in the center of the room about four feet from the screen where all eyes would rest on him before they locked on the screen.

"That's exactly what I would have done," Kate thought.

"Here we go people!" Stack's voice wasn't loud, but it commanded the attention of everyone in the room. "Our suspect is Jerry Tyson or 3XK if you prefer. He is a serial killer and a chameleon. He has killed at least 12 that we know of and there are probably many more that we do not. He was last seen taking a header off a bridge in New York City after being shot multiple times by Agent Beckett and her civilian partner Richard Castle. It was supposed to be an ambush of the two, but they got the better of him. His body was never found and he was presumed dead."

Stack turned to look at Beckett, "Is that the short of it Agent Beckett?"

Kate was stunned, Castle had been right. Tyson was alive.

"Agent Beckett, did I leave out anything pertinent?" Stack sounded impatient and every eye in the room was on her.

Kate shook her head, "No, no sir, that covers it."

Stack nodded and returned his attention to the screen and thankfully so did everyone else.

He continued without missing a beat, "Our target is believed to be responsible for the overnight murders of three women whose bodies were found on the grounds of the Smithsonian Institution Building at 12th and Jefferson here in DC."

Kate's racing thoughts escaped from her, "How do we know 3XK is our killer?"

"I was just getting to that," Stack's focus never wavered. "All three victims were young and blonde, strangled with a 3 strand quarter inch twisted rope. The same type of rope used in previous 3XK killings and the bodies were found with their hands clasped in funereal poses on a carousel on the castle grounds."

Kate and Stack locked eyes. His demanding to be allowed to finish his briefing and hers filled with a dawning of what this truly meant.

"Agent Stack," Kate moved to the center of the room to stand beside him.

"Agent Beckett?"

"What did you just say?"

Stack was beginning to look annoyed, "The bodies were found on a carousel on the museum grounds that is used for tourists."

Kate persisted, "No, you said castle. What did you mean?"

"The Smithsonian Institution Building is best known as Smithsonian Castle, Agent Beckett."

Her heart pulsed in her throat as adrenaline coursed into her system, "It's a message."

Stack looked at her quizzically, "A message? What kind of message?"

Kate turned to the tech Holland, "Do you have a picture of the Smithsonian Castle?"

Hearing the alarm in her voice, he didn't even wait for Stack, "Yah, hang on."

In seconds a picture was on screen, "It's a message for me; for me and Castle. He blames Castle for ruining his original plans to disappear and keep on killing. Castle has always believed that Tyson planned the confrontation on the bridge in New York trying to get his twisted ass life back on track. Castle never believed he was dead. Never stopped looking for him. Tyson must have found out."

Kate stared unseeing at the screen processing Castle's intuition about Tyson as the conversation on the bridge came back to her, "He wanted us to find that place. He wanted us on this bridge. How does a wanted man stop being wanted? It has to be public and it has to be final."

The room was silent seemingly waiting for Kate, "Something went wrong and he wants me to know it's not over. Everything is a game to this bastard. His plan to disappear didn't work, so he's switched to plan B."

Stack asked the question that everyone else was thinking, "And that is?"

"Castle. He's going after Castle."


	5. Chapter 5

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 5

Rick Castle was nervous and that wasn't often the case for him. Tonight was important. He wanted everything to go well. He needed everything to go well.

"Hey, boss, the event room is all set for your shindig," Henry Lowell the Haunt's manager announced as he moved quickly into the main bar area.

Castle smiled broadly at him from his seat at the bar, "Fantastic, Henry, thank you."

Henry crossed to Castle and took the barstool next to him, "Big night?"

Castle looked up from the list he was checking and double checking, "Yes, it kind of is, I guess."

Henry eyed his boss carefully. Having worked for Castle since he had purchased the bar two and a half years before after solving the murder of the previous owner, Henry had seen much of Castle's life play out in front of him. And what he had seen Castle go through had at times been gut-wrenching to watch even from a distance. Alexis' kidnapping, almost losing Detective Beckett to a sniper, and then actually losing her to a job in DC. Through it all, the man had remained the benevolent boss who had given the ex-con a job when no one else would and Henry had developed a fierce sense of loyalty towards him, "I'm glad to see that you're doing okay. This party tonight; it's a sign of good things."

Castle met Henry's oddly questioning gaze, "Is that a declarative statement or are you psychoanalyzing me?"

Henry still wasn't use to how direct his boss could be, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to overstep."

Henry rose to his feet retreating back to his work. Castle reached out and patted his shoulder, "I appreciate the concern. I really do. You're a great manager and a good friend."

Henry smiled weakly and turned away, "Henry."

Henry looked back at Castle, "It's a declarative statement. I'm good. I really am."

Henry left the room without a further word. Castle had hired the man fresh out of Adirondack Correctional on a hunch that had turned out to be a good one. Henry had been an exceptional employee who had earned himself a place at the Old Haunt table through hard work, determination, and loyalty. Castle watched him go with a deeper sense of who Henry was and the importance of their relationship to both of them.

Castle checked his watch. Time had gotten away from him. It was after 7:00 and everyone would be arriving soon, so he decided to check on the event room himself. The room was set up with a large King Arthur type round table. He had intentionally planned it this way because he wanted his guests to feel equal to one another tonight. He wanted balance and for everyone to be in sync; qualities that he had been missing from his life more than five years. Qualities he was determined to restore for himself, his true friends and his family. Qualities he would never allow himself to relinquish again once he got them back. Not for anyone. Not ever. Tonight was a night for relationships. Tonight they would be celebrated, acknowledged, appreciated, and even laid to rest.

"Hey, Sherlock, what does a real man have to do to get a drink around here?"

Castle snapped clear of his thoughts to greet the first arrival of the night, "Slaughter! You made it. I wasn't sure you would come."

Slaughter cast the writer a wry snarl, "Yah, me neither, but free booze and food and a chance to see you make an idiot of yourself? Well, some things are just too good to pass up."

Castle moved to hug Slaughter, but quickly switched to a welcoming slap on the shoulder when he saw Slaughter's face, "I'll get that drink."

Within fifteen minutes the room was filled with the most important people in Castle's life. He stood in the doorway marveling at his good fortune; so many amazing people that he was lucky enough to regard as family. Alexis and Martha were talking with Jenny, Ryan, Esposito and his date that Castle didn't recognize. Lanie and Gates were chatting with Slaughter and Castle found himself wishing he could be a fly on the wall for that conversation.

Just then, Castle felt a hand slip into his. He gripped it tightly, smiled, and pulled the new arrival with him to the far end of the room where two seats remained open together.

Everyone was smiling at him and he smiled crazily back at them, "First of all, I would like to thank you all for coming tonight. It really means a lot that you are all here."

Everyone nodded and Espo and Ryan raised their glasses in Castle's direction, "Anything for a brother," Espo announced.

Though Castle was talking, all eyes were on the guest to Castle's left. Surveying the room, it was obvious that most knew who the tall, gorgeous light eyed beauty was; everyone except Esposito, his date, and Lanie.

Castle cleared his throat and he began again, "For those of you who do not know this stunning woman to my left, I would like to introduce you to Allison McMurphy."

Various greetings and cheers rose up from the group, "Mac, welcome!"

"Allie, give me a hug!" Jenny squealed as she ran over to her.

Lanie and Esposito were silent with matching stunned expressions. They locked eyes realizing instantaneously that neither of them had been in the loop about this new addition to Castle's life. Espo sought out Ryan visually and instinctively knew from his expression that this was not news to him.

Suddenly the room erupted in pleasant conversation, greetings, and well wishes. Espo and Lanie made a bee line for one another, "So is this the big surprise? Castle unveiling his new girlfriend?"

Lanie continued to watch the group, "Who is she?"

At that moment, Slaughter sidled up to them swilling down what had to be his fourth whisky on the rocks, "She's a detective at the 9th," he offered up.

"A detective?" Espo almost choked on his drink.

Slaughter gave Espo an are you stupid look, "Did I stutter?"

Lanie cut in asking the one question that was burning in her brain, "Are they together?"

Slaughter pretended not to hear Lanie or simply ignored her question. "Hey, our boy sure seems to have a type, don't ya think?" Slaughter threw the idea out there to stoke the fire he saw building.

Lanie and Espo responded together, "What?"

Slaughter used his chin to motion toward Allison and Castle, "She look like anybody Sherlock has dated before to you?"

The trio took a closer look at Detective Allison McMurphy. She was tall and thin with an obvious flair for fashion. Her light brown-blonde highlighted hair flowed down to a stop at the middle of her back and gently framed some of the bluest eyes they had ever seen. She was smiling and her eyes were shining with sincere emotion that was obviously for Castle. Her body language further illustrated a depth to their relationship erasing any ideas that anyone may have had that this was a brand new thing. Allison stayed close to Castle, touching him often, leaning in to him to talk, things Kate had never done; at least not in front of anyone.

Esposito interjected, "Was it you Slaughter? Did you hook them up?"

Slaughter snorted, "Whoa there Mighty Mouse. Mac and I have worked together on an off for a few years, but if you wanna be pissed at someone, that's your man over there."

"Ryan?" Lanie repeated surprised.

"Yep, I think she was in their wedding or something like that," Slaughter wandered off looking for a refill having bored of the conversation.

Espo and Lanie moved closer to each other so they would not be overheard, "I do remember her, Javi. She was a bridesmaid in Jenny and Ryan's wedding."

Espo was angry, "Castle and Beckett went to that wedding together."

Lanie corrected him, "No they didn't. They were each other's plus one after Alexis bailed on Castle." The two continued to watch Castle and his new detective from their vantage point. He was relaxed and that stoic mask he often wore to hide his pain was nowhere in sight.

Lanie felt the pull of divided loyalties, "He looks happy, Javi."

Espo didn't really want to hear that, "All right, so he does. So what? It's only been four months since she left, Lanie. How serious can it be?"

"He's moving on."

Espo took a deep breath and an even deeper drink from his glass, "Yah, and that's a good thing?"

Lanie could see the conflict in Espo's face. She touched his arm gently nodding, "As much as I love Kate, she made her choice. It's only fair that now he gets to make his."

"He finally did it. He finally laid it all out for her, and she gave it all up for a stupid ass job with the FEDs," Esposito was obviously talking about more than just the rejected proposal.

Lanie suddenly became conscious of how hurt Javi had been by the way Beckett had left, "She left all of us behind."

Javi's eyes looked watery, "She made it seem so easy. Breaking up the family; our team. Walking away like we meant nothing. I hope it was worth it."

Lanie hugged Javi and whispered, "Beckett may be gone, but we're all still here. Let's go support our family; our team. We need to let Castle know that it's okay to find happiness with someone else and that it changes nothing between us."

Javi let her words roll around in his head for a minute, "Yah, absolutely. Castle is my boy. Beckett's gone and she's not coming back. It's time we all accept it and get on with it."

By the time Lanie and Espo rejoined the group, the food was arriving. Both stopped by to officially welcome and meet Allison. Castle's eyes had held questions and even a little bit of anxiety when they walked up, but by the time they took their seats to eat, everyone was all smiles and the atmosphere in the room was one of good friends, good times, and family. The balance and sense of being in sync was there throughout the meal. It was everything Castle had hoped for.

The hours passed quickly and soon it was time for after dinner drinks and dessert. Everyone was surprised when Castle rose and gently tapped his wine glass with a fork gaining the attention of the room for the second time that evening. Lanie and Espo exchanged glances wondering what could possibly come next.

"Well, I told you all that I had a surprise," Castle teased good naturedly.

"Get on with it Sherlock!" Slaughter yelled from a slumped position in his chair.

Castle pointed at Slaughter, "Remind me to have Henry call that man a cab!"

Everyone laughed.

"Derrick Storm's return from the dead has been a huge success, and I have just signed a contract for three more books with him as my lead character. This means I will have the money to continue to work for the New York Police Department for free!" Castle emphasized the "for free" looking at Captain Gates.

"What does this mean for Nikki Heat?" Ryan asked the question everyone else was thinking, but dared not ask.

Castle's face clouded with emotion that was hard for even those who knew him well to read, "Federal Heat is finished and that book marks the end of our story; the end of Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook's story."

There it was; proof that life after Kate Beckett was indeed possible for Castle. It made sense that he couldn't continue to write Nikki Heat books and have a life free of the past. In order to let go, he had to let it all go. Each person in the room, except maybe Espo's nameless date, recognized the news for the tangible evidence it was that Richard Castle was finally done with both Nikki Heat and Kate Beckett.


	6. Chapter 6

**Many thanks to those of you who have taken the time to share your thoughts with me on this story and those who have chosen to follow it. I can't tell you how motivating it is to have your input, support, and ideas. **

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 6

The sounds in the tech room went from completely silent to overwhelming in only seconds as every agent resumed their assigned task. In the few scant moments since Kate's announcement, Stack had headed out the door. She reclaimed her frazzled wits and followed him, "Sir! Sir! Agent Stack!"

Finally, he stopped and turned to face her holding up his hand in a motion that let her know he needed to speak, "Beckett, I understand that you have an emotional connection to this case which may make you an asset or a liability. I am not quite sure which one it is going to be yet. Right now, I need you to work with the team to find out as much as we can about what went down last night and where Tyson might be right now."

Kate heard the warning in his voice, but it didn't stop her, "I know Tyson, Sir. He is a manipulator and everything he does has hundreds of moving parts and several acts before you can even begin to see what he has in mind. He's an illusionist. Everything is not what it seems and his end game is never what you imagine. There's always a door number two and a door number three to his plans. I don't even think he knows how things are going to play out half the time and that is why he always has several contingencies. But what I do know is leaving those bodies at the Smithsonian Castle was a warning to me that he knows I'm on this task force and that Castle is alone in New York. 3XK is in New York, Sir. I know it."

Realizing that they had drawn an audience, Stack motioned Kate to follow him into an empty office. He closed the door and moved away from it with Kate following, "I need you to hear what I am about to say. You are no longer an NYPD detective. You are an Attorney General's Task Force Agent, and we have had three bodies dropped in one night that we have been able to link directly to a serial killer. Every bit of evidence we have indicates that he is here in DC, and you want us to disregard all of that information and head to New York on a feeling?"

Kate knew what she was saying sounded crazy and unlikely, but they didn't know Tyson the way she did. They hadn't studied him only to be tricked by him and forced to fight for survival against his diabolical genius. "Sir, when I was recommended for this position, I was told that it was due in large part to my being an asymmetrical innovative thinker. And I am telling you now, that Jerry Tyson is not in DC. He is in New York City."

Stack took a cleansing breath, "Alright, Kate. I'll go this far with you. I will call Captain Gates at the 12th and fill her in on your theory, and they can start looking into it from their end. Fair enough?"

It wasn't exactly what Kate had hoped for, but it was something, so she agreed, "Fair enough, Sir."

"Good. Now pull everything we have on Tyson. Go through it and add any details that you may personally believe are important for us to have in the file that might help us find him before he kills again," he ordered. "I want a full report on my desk in two hours."

"Yes, Sir," she responded only slightly less disquieted than she had been when the conversation had begun.

The rest of the day seemed to pass in time lapse photography mode. Kate reviewed the dossier on Tyson, updated it, and had it on Stack's desk well before the two hour deadline. She was then assigned traffic cam duty since she was the only agent who had actually come face to face with Tyson and knew what to look for if he was in disguise.

Scrolling through all the footage from in and around Smithsonian Castle made her think of Esposito and Ryan. How many times had she assigned them this task over the years only to have them come through with a key piece of evidence? A license plate, a car heading toward or away from a scene, an unsuspecting perp caught in the act.

Tonight, however, it wasn't to be. There was no sign of Jerry Tyson anywhere. Kate had known there wouldn't be. He was too smart. Someone who could sneak into a police station full of cops, manage to get into the holding area, and get out of the building without anyone seeing him was not going to get caught by a traffic cam leaving the scene of a triple murder. Not unless that was part of his plan.

"Any luck?" Stack asked entering the room.

She shook her head, "Nothing. He's not on here because he didn't want to be. To be seen wasn't part of his plan."

Stack perched on the edge of the desk where Kate was working, "You really believe this guy is some kind of evil Houdini?"

Kate was tired and it showed, "Jerry Tyson is like no other killer I've ever come across. Killing isn't just what he does. It is who he is. It's his identity. Every ounce of his being is focused on one goal and one goal only - his next plan; his next kill."

"I called your old precinct," he offered without making her ask.

Kate sat up straighter, "And?"

"There has been no sign of 3XK in the New York State area. No murders matching his MO. No missing blondes," Stack hesitated, "and Richard Castle is in perfect health."

Kate's relief was obvious and Stack had the feeling that it had more to do with the part about Castle than anything else, "Go home, Agent. There's nothing left to do tonight. Fresh eyes tomorrow."

Kate nodded as Stack got up to leave, "Thank you, Sir."

"For what?" Stack asked, but then realized, "Oh, yah, it's all good. Now go."

Kate was astonished to see that is was past midnight, and her stomach let her know that it wasn't happy to have been ignored for over fourteen hours.

"Need food," she thought to herself.

Kate grabbed her stuff and slogged through the darkened offices and out into the parking lot. The security guard waved at her and she waved back thinking, "Last one in today and the last one out."

Kate was a classic case of distracted driving on the way home. One minute she was pulling out of the parking structure attached to the AG's offices and the next she was arriving at her apartment's lot not knowing exactly how she got there. Pulling into her assigned slot, she realized that she hadn't stopped for food and knew there wasn't anything in the place to eat, but was too tired to do anything about it. Getting out of the car, she decided that dinner would have to be a cup of decaf battery acid monkey pee.

A hot shower and a comfortable night shirt and shorts brought Kate some relief from the unsettling day. She made her coffee and took up the same spot in front of the window that she had occupied that morning. Once again she let herself think about her friends and her life in New York. Up until this morning, she had managed to avoid this process – the part where she really looked at how she had left things four months ago. Her departure had been abrupt and very sudden for everyone except her dad, Gates and Lanie since they were the only one's she told about the opportunity until it was a done deal. Besides the fight with Castle about keeping secrets, her biggest regret was Esposito. Kate knew she should have included him in the decision. They had that kind of relationship, but she hadn't. She couldn't really say why. It had just seemed easier at the time; at least it had until she saw his face when she told him at the same time she was telling everyone else that she was leaving. To make matters worse, she had failed to keep in contact with anyone other than Lanie and her dad since the move. A clean break was what she had been going for, but what she hadn't counted on was being the one who couldn't let go.

And finally, Castle. Memories of him sifted through her whole being. How he smiled at her, looked at her with those blue eyes, the smell of him fresh out of the shower, and how it felt to lay down at the end of an absolutely ass kicking day with his arms protectively around her as they slept. "Kate, I love you. I love you, Kate."

Kate had never known that it was possible to miss someone so much. The only time she had felt anything like this was when her mother had been killed, but her mother had been taken from her. She had walked away from Castle all on her own. This one was all her.

And now 3XK was back. She had never been more certain of anything in her life. He was back and Castle was an integral part of whatever he was planning.

Only a few short months ago, she would have spent the whole night building theory with Castle and developing a plan to catch the bastard. Instead, she was more alone than she had ever been in her life wondering how the hell she was going to stop the chain of falling dominos she had put in play that day in the park when she said no to the only man she had ever loved.


	7. Chapter 7

Decision and Dominoes Chapter 7

Castle was jolted from sleep by the sound of his phone skittering across the nightstand and then unceremoniously hitting the hardwood floor. He could tell it was a text and he thought about ignoring it for a while, but it was Saturday morning and it was early, so it might be important.

It was from Lanie, "911 – Morgue Now!"

All thoughts of sleep evaporated from Castle's mind as he placed the phone back on the nightstand and rested his attention on the woman beside him.

Allie was on her stomach facing away from Castle. He couldn't see her face, but his eyes traveled down the slope of her naked back to where the sheet was covering her from the waist down.

Castle gently stroked the curve of her spine as he placed a soft kiss on her shoulder. She moaned softly and turned toward him with a welcoming gaze, "Hey."

Castle's smile faded at the that one word greeting he was so used to receiving and returning to someone else. He recovered quickly and smiled back at her warmly, but was unable to bring himself to reply in kind so he said, "Good morning to you too, Mac."

Two sets of blue eyes met in the morning sunlit silence. Allison rose up on one elbow and reached for Castle's face with the other hand. He responded without hesitation and they met in an intimate kiss that left them both breathless and wanting more.

"No, no, no, young lady," Castle slipped from her grasp and the bed in one clean motion. "Duty calls," he told her nodding toward his phone.

Allie gave him a frown that made her look even hotter that she already did, "It's Saturday, Castle."

"I got a 911 from Lanie," he explained. "She doesn't send those willy nilly."

Allie tossed her long hair back out of her face laughing, "Did you just say willy nilly?"

"Umm…. Yes… What's wrong with willy nilly?"

Still laughing, "Oh, I don't know, Castle. It just makes you sound so…. so…."

"Linguistically gifted?" Castle interrupted.

Allie was still giving him an amused look, "More like old. It makes you sound like my grandfather."

"Hmmm…well, that wasn't exactly what I was going for," Castle picked up his phone and group texted Espo and Kevin to meet him at the morgue as he walked around to stand beside Allie. He placed a quick kiss on her forehead and was heading to the bathroom when he stopped and turned back toward the bed, "You wouldn't want to come with me, would you?"

Allie was out of bed and cutting Castle off for first dibs on the shower before he even finished his sentence, "I guess that was a yes?"

The shower spurted to life, "Come on Rick, 911 means move your ass."

Heading into the bathroom and shower he mused, "I am not sure this approach is going to get us there faster, Mac."

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Forty minutes later, Castle and Allie pushed through the morgue doors side by side. Espo and Ryan were already in deep conversation with Lanie at the examination table. The couple's entrance together reminded them of not so distant times and that memory silenced the three of them simultaneously.

Castle let the questions begin before the doors had even closed behind them, "So what warranted a 911 on a Saturday morning, Lanie?"

Lanie stared Castle down with a where are your manners look, "Good morning, Allison. Welcome to my lab."

Allie smiled genuinely at Lanie, "Thanks, Lanie, and please its Mac or Allie. My mom is the real Allison in the family."

Lanie nodded accepting the offer while shifting her attention back to the case at hand, "Its bad, Castle."

Standing shoulder to shoulder Allie and Castle exchanged concerned glances, "What kind of bad?"

"The kind of bad that was supposed to be dead bad," Kevin offered.

"He's back, bro, 3XK," Espo filled in the remaining blanks.

Everyone could tell that the news was not surprising to Castle and that jolted Lanie, Espo, and Ryan.

Allie gathered up the information that she was seeing registered in the faces in the room. She knew of 3XK's infamy as a serial killer, and she also knew that he had some kind of vendetta against the 12th precinct that involved Castle, but she didn't know the whole story. It was something Castle never talked about. One of the many things he never talked about. "What does this mean, Rick?"

Castle's face told her it was far beyond your normal bad, "It means that things are about to get really complicated."

Ryan spoke up next, "We gotta tell Gates."

Wordlessly the men began a three round game of Roshambo. Castle lost out when two papers covered his rock, "Damn. Okay, I got this." His voice didn't sound any more confident than his face looked.

Ryan and Espo shared a complex victory fist bump, "She hates being called on Saturday, bro."

Ryan chimed in, "Hates it."

Lanie interrupted the boys being boys, "After I got her cleaned up, I found that COD was strangulation."

"With a three strand quarter inch twisted rope," Castle finished for her. "Green and white fibers in the wound tract?"

Lanie confirmed with a nod, "She was definitely killed elsewhere and dropped on the subway tracks. Her blood had long since stopped oxygenating before the train hit her."

"Why would Tyson kill her elsewhere and go to the trouble of moving her to some random subway tunnel?" Espo queried.

"It wasn't a random location," Castle announced, "Nothing Tyson does is random. Not ever."

All eyes were on Castle, "Lanie, remember what I asked you about the name of the tunnel?"

"Yes, you asked if it was always the 168th street station," she recalled out loud for the benefit of everyone.

Kevin jumped in, "It used to be Washington Heights, right?"

"Yah, it was. But what does that have to do with anything?" Espo didn't see the connection.

When Castle didn't answer right away, Allie stepped in, "Rick, what's going on? What does Washington Heights have to do with 3XK?"

He took a deep breath before answering, "It's a message for me from Tyson. It's about Beckett."

Puzzled concern billowed in the faces around him as they waited for him to explain, "He wants me to know that he's watching her."

"Man, how are you getting that from a dead body in a subway tunnel?" Espo wasn't convinced.

"Tyson never does anything the easy way, the direct way. It has to be a game, so he kidnaps a girl and kills her with his usual MO as his calling card. He has to be sure that we know it is him. And then he chooses a dump site as the message."

Kevin was starting to follow, "And that message is?"

Castle's voice dropped to a low almost inaudible growl the way it always did when he was fighting his emotions, "He knows that she is in Washington and where she lives."

"What?" Lanie blurted, "Castle, don't you think you're reaching just a bit?"

Castle made desperate eye contact with her, "Beckett's place in Washington; she lives in the Heights Condominiums."

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Castle texted Gates letting her know that he needed to talk to her. He was surprised when he got an immediate response telling him that she was in her office at the precinct and that he should meet her there.

Leaving Lanie to continue looking for more evidence that could lead them to Tyson, the rest of the group headed to the squad room.

The elevator doors opened to an eerily empty space. Castle led the way and as they neared Gate's office the others dropped off to wait.

Castle stopped and turned to Allie, "Hang here." He then eyed the boys, "You two behave yourselves while I am gone."

Both Espo and Ryan gave Castle a fake hurt look before Espo teased, "You know us. We'll take good care of Mac. I'm sure we can think up a few stories to tell her while you're gone."

Before Castle could retort, Gates was calling him into her office, "Mr. Castle, do you think it wise to keep me waiting?"

Castle pointed a stern parental finger at them and gave them his best don't you dare face before entering Gate's office shutting the door behind him.

Gates closed a file that she had been reading before Castle's arrival but didn't put it aside. She motioned for him to take a seat giving him her full attention, "So what brings us together for this rare weekend exchange?"

Castle glanced out the window at Mac and the boys before he began to brief Gates, nervously wondering what they were talking about, "Sir, yesterday there was a body drop in the 168th street subway tunnel."

"I am aware of that. This is my precinct."

"Well, yesterday at the crime scene I had a feeling that there was something weird about it," he was trying to lay things out so she would see the connections that he had made.

Gates raised her eye brows and gave him what he always took to be a disapproving look, "Weird? We are having this conversation on a Saturday because you thought the scene was weird?"

"Yes, well no, not exactly," he stammered. "Okay, here it is. This morning Lanie texted me 911 to the morgue. She had found evidence that the girl had been killed elsewhere and dumped on the tracks post mortem." Castle took a breath. When Gates didn't interrupt, he continued, "Cause of death was strangulation with three strand quarter inch twisted rope."

Gates stood suddenly gripping the file she had left resting in front of her, "3XK."

Castle stood too in response to her sudden movement, "Sir, you don't seem surprised by this."

"That's because I'm not, Castle," Gates told him sliding the file across the desk towards him.

Castle was so shocked by Gates dropping the "Mr." from her address to him that he let the file slide off the desk and onto the floor. He quickly picked it up and began reading. Speed reader that he was, it didn't take him long to get caught up with the DC murders that the FEDS had attributed to Jerry Tyson. Castle was taken aback though by the notations in the file from Agent Kate Beckett which detailed her assertion that "the murders were a message to her and a direct threat toward Richard Castle".

When Castle looked up from the file Gates was waiting, "Captain, he left me a message too."

After explaining what Castle believed was the relevance of Tyson's choice of dump site, Gates immediately picked up the phone, "Agent Stack, please. It's urgent."


	8. Chapter 8

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 8

Kate was just heading out the door to track down some real food when the "all hands on deck" message came through on her phone from the Attorney General's Task Force. Her heart skipped a beat and pure adrenalin silenced the clamoring in her stomach as she ran from the condo to her car. The ride to the office felt like it took forever, though in reality it was actually shorter due to lighter Saturday traffic.

Once there, Beckett immediately began scanning the room for Stack. He would be the one to tell her what she needed to know, but she didn't see him anywhere.

The emotion in the room packed an even bigger punch than the day before and was charged to such a high level of alert that Kate felt like her body was forced to cut through it as she made her way toward Stack's private office. She didn't see him on the floor, so he had to be there.

She knocked twice and opened the door without waiting, "Sir?"

Stack was on the phone, but he waved her in, "Yes, that's right. And the timeline has been confirmed?" He listened intently, not looking at Kate, "That's correct. The AG's office is prepared to offer our full support with your investigation." Stack listened a few seconds longer and then replaced the handset of the desk phone in its cradle.

Kate searched Stack's face for any information, "What's happened?"

Stack's face was grave, "You were right, Beckett. NYPD has a body. Tyson is definitely the doer and the timeline confirms that the kill came after our bodies dropped here."

Fear crept into Kate's guts and showed in her face, "The victim, Sir?"

"Oh, yah, it was a blonde female, early 20's. His usual," it suddenly dawned on Stack what Beckett must have been thinking.

Kate's body visibly relaxed and he had a momentary qualm about not making it clear sooner that Richard Castle had not been the most recent victim of 3XK, "What now?"

"Sit down," Beckett was motioned to a chair.

Stack sat on the edge of the desk again, "I need to know that you can do this; that you can keep perspective and your emotions in check."

Kate was thinking that the one thing she knew how to do was keep her emotions hidden, "Yes, Sir, I can do that."

Stack watched her carefully, "Going home again isn't always what it's cracked up to be. Things change. People change."

Kate forced herself to make eye contact with Stack, "Does that mean we are going to New York?"

"Yes, some members of the task force are going to New York to support NYPD's investigation. It's important that you understand that. Our role will be strictly support," Stack spoke as if he was still deciding what to do with her. "And the rest of the team will remain here and work our three homicides."

"I understand, Sir," Kate assured him. She had to make him believe. There was no way she could stay in DC knowing that Tyson was in New York plotting his next move.

As Agent Stack considered his options, he had something else to divulge, "One more thing I think you should know."

Beckett eyed him questioningly, "Tyson left a message for Castle."

Kate's voice was emotionless, "Tell me."

"The body was found on the tracks in the 168th Street subway tunnel. Castle realized that particular line had once been known as the Washington Heights station," Stack began the explanation.

Kate understood the message without him saying another word, "He wanted Castle to know he knew exactly where I live."

Stack's eyebrows conveyed his astonishment, "That's what the man said. You two really do have some kind of Martian mind link it would seem."

Kate smiled wanly, "Yes, sir, it has always kind of been there between us."

Stack's expression let Kate know he had made a decision, "All right, Agent Beckett. You're on the team. Get your go bag. Wheels up in thirty."

In Beckett's estimation, Agent Stack didn't sound a hundred percent certain about his decision, so Kate got out of there before he could change his mind.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Castle briefed Espo, Ryan and Mac about the DC murders, but he left out the part detailing Agent Beckett's notations. He hadn't planned to do it that way, but it had just seemed the wrong time to share that part of the file.

Was it because of Mac? He didn't know so Castle shoved that thought away as Ryan began working on the murder board, "Okay, what do we know?"

And just like hundreds of times before, the three men came together as one mind and the murder board began to take shape bringing life, focus, and clarity to the investigation. Theories led to questions and the questions led to new theories. All of this generated a tangible hum that chased away the emptiness of the squad room and filled it with a warm energy. And Mac, she not only felt it, she became a part of it offering up observations of her own that grew from an unbiased perspective.

The back and forth volley of ideas that Castle loved so much between the team drove them through the next couple of hours. The murder board had been transformed into a visual critical to solving this case from nothing other than their minds working together in perfect sync.

"This is why," Castle said out loud to no one in particular.

"What did you say, Castle?" Ryan inquired.

Mac and Espo drew in closer to where Castle stood staring at the murder board, "Someone asked me once why I keep coming back."

Espo interjected, "And?"

Castle smiled as he cleared a space on the desk for him and Mac to sit side by side facing the board, "It's because of this. It's because of you two. It's because we build something out of nothing just by communicating and listening to each other's ideas, and we use what we build to get justice for people who can't do it for themselves. That's why. That's why I keep coming back."

Ryan slapped Castle on the back appreciatively, Mac gave him a supportive side hug, but Espo said, "Bro, are you sure you aren't a girl?"

The team laughed and as they did the elevator door dinged. Gates stepped out of her office barely glancing their way. It was obvious she was expecting whoever was on the elevator.

When the doors opened, four suits stepped out, but they were tightly bunched together. Castle stood up to get a better look. He recognized Stack immediately. Glancing at Espo and Ryan, he could see that they were filled with the same trepidation that he was.

"What are the FEDs doing here?" Espo hissed under his breath.

"What's up with Gates? Castle did she tell you about this?" Ryan asked.

Castle shook his head, "I got nothing."

Gates led the new arrivals down the hallway over to where the team waited. Everyone saw each other at the exact same moment

For Castle it was as though all the air had been sucked out of the room, but he couldn't contain a whispered, "Beckett." He looked at Gates searching her face for some sign that he had been set up by her, but he could tell from her expression that she was as shocked as anyone.

Espo and Ryan's eyes fell to Castle; wordlessly they instinctively moved to stand behind him. Mac stood up then too recognizing the situation for what it was; a powder keg.

Stack spoke first extending his hand to Castle, "Mr. Castle, it's good to see you again."

Castle had managed to keep from making eye contact with Kate, settling his attention on Stack, "Thank you and what brings you here, Stack?"

Stack smiled despite the obvious slight in Castle's tone, "The AG wants to offer his full support and staff with this 3XK thing."

Espo had crossed his arms over his chest and was also focused on Stack unable to look at Kate, "The AG think we can't do our jobs?"

"Espo," Kate uttered in an urgent tone.

Stack waived that idea away, "Of course not, Detective Esposito. As I said, we are here only to support your investigation."

"Don't you have your own triple to worry about in DC?" Kevin popped into the conversation, but he was looking directly in Kate's eyes when he spoke, and he sounded angry to his own ears. Kate managed to meet his gaze for only a few seconds before she averted her eyes.

Gates took that moment to try and gain control of the quickly devolving conversation sensing that some de-escalation was in order, "We are all on the same team people. We have the same goal and that is to take down Jerry Tyson once and for all."

The tension in the room was close to unbearable so Gates continued, "Why don't we find you a place to set up shop, Agent Stack."

Stack smiled the company smile at the 12th precinct team, "That would be great, Captain."

Kate and her new team followed Gates to an empty office a few doors down without another word. Kevin watched Beckett go and when she smiled at him, only then did he look away.

Gates returned momentarily motioning them all into her office. Even she appeared a bit shaken, "I'm sorry, Mr. Castle. I had no idea that she was coming with them."

"Wow," Kevin announced to the room,"I just realized I am way pissed at Beckett."

"That really sucked," Espo blurted. "Who does she think she is? Calling me out like that?"

"You all right, Rick?" Mac asked him gently touching his forearm. Ryan and Espo closed ranks intentionally blocking Castle from the FED's line of sight afforded by the windows into the office.

He appeared shell shocked. Castle had been totally unprepared to see Beckett. They hadn't spoken since that day in the park over four months ago, and from that day he had done his best to fill his life so full of the present that there would be no room for her memory in his head. How was he supposed to keep her out of his head now?

Kate stood watching her former team interacting in the captain's office. Everyone looked the same, but they clearly were not. What had she really expected? There had been basically no communication between her and any of them for the last four months. And it seemed that none of them had any idea that she was coming with the entourage. Why would Stack have withheld that from Gates? She found herself wondering if that had been a tactical play. Looking for an advantage away from home field? Throw the home team into a spin?

And who was the woman with them? A new detective? Lanie hadn't mentioned that a replacement had been hired. Kate noticed that she was awfully close to Castle; that she was touching him. No one who worked at the precinct would do that in front of Gates. What was going on?

"Beckett, it's time for the briefing," Agent Lyle announced breaking her free of the moment.

Everyone met back up in front of the murder board. Castle, Espo and Ryan took turns explaining key elements of the board's structure; what they knew and what was merely speculation. None of them ever directly addressed Kate or acknowledged her presence.

When they were done, Stack did the same, but he had individual folders made up for each of the team members; except for Mac. "I'm sorry, I don't think we have met," he said extending his hand toward her.

Mac stepped up into Stack's space, took his hand firmly and met his gaze directly and never flinched, "Allison McMurphy, Detective Allison McMurphy. My house is the 9th."

Kate was watching the interaction between Stack and McMurphy very carefully, but found she couldn't keep her attention off of Castle. His face gave it away. She knew that look. That look use to be hers. They were involved.

It was Kate's turn to feel like she was suffocating. She took a step back and found the closest desk to lean against. Everyone kept talking, but Kate couldn't hear them for the rushing waves of sound in her head. She struggled to keep her face emotionless and tried to appear to be paying attention.

Gates interjected with a suggestion, "Well, it's getting late everyone. Castle's team has been here since very early this morning when they were called in by our medical examiner. Why don't we meet back here at 8:00 AM and decide on a plan of action that we can all live with."

Beckett's head snapped up and she was at full attention – Castle's team? Did she hear that right and from Gates? Where was Javi's smartass comeback shooting down the idea that Castle was in charge of anything more or less the team? She watched Javi and Kevin and neither seemed to have a problem with the pronouncement.

Stack was in agreement, "Do you mind if we stay a bit longer to get organized?"

"Of course, stay as long as you need," Gates assured them.

With that Castle, Espo, Ryan and McMurphy grabbed their gear and began slowly heading for the elevator. Kate had no choice but to watch them go. There was no mistaking it. The group dynamic was clear. Castle was at the center and Javi and Kevin were his right and left hand men. If she had any doubt, there had been no missing the move they both made to shore up Castle when she had arrived by moving in behind him.

And Allison McMurphy; just who was she to the team? Who was she to Castle? Kate had not missed the strong physical resemblance between herself and the female detective from the 9th. Even though it was painful to think about it, she wondered if Castle was sleeping with her. She was pretty sure she knew the answer.

As the elevator doors shut removing the group from her sight, Stack came up beside her, "I told you, Agent Beckett, sometimes going home again isn't all it's cracked up to be."


	9. Chapter 9

**I really like how this one turned out - hope you do too. **

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 9

The front door to the loft slammed shut with a resounding thud that startled Martha as she was putting away the leftovers from a dinner only she had been present to eat, "Ahhhh, Richard, my darling, you missed a fantastic feast this evening."

Castle seemed to not even have heard her. He went straight to his office, kicking the door shut behind him. Martha grabbed an extra wine glass and filled it. She then topped off her own sensing that she was going to need it. She crossed to the office door and hesitated before deciding not to knock.

When Martha entered the room, it was lit only by the street lights of the city. Her son stood staring out the window, a large hi-ball full of scotch in his hand. The shadows that enveloped his face hid nothing from her. She put the glass of wine she brought for him down on his desk realizing that he had already chosen his pain killer.

"Richard?"

"Not now, mother," he ordered in his deep emotion laden monotone.

Martha took a drink of her wine considering her options. She decided it was prudent to give him some physical space, so she sat down on the arm of the chair closest to him, "Well, at least you haven't thrown the glass yet."

He took another long drink, "That would be a waste of a good 18 years in a barrel."

Castle knew that his mother was circling him; looking for a way in. No one was better at it than she was, but he wasn't sure he was up for another standoff. "Sweetheart, I know what this is," Martha took what she saw to be a small opening.

"Do you, mother? Do you really? Then why don't you enlighten me," Castle had redirected his anger at his mother's intrusion.

Martha had finished off her wine and rather than going to the kitchen for the bottle, she simply moved on to the glass she had brought for Castle, "Well, as I've said before, only one person makes you this upset."

Castle had emptied his glass as well, and he moved to refill it. Martha waited biding her time and gauging his emotions. Besides, she had learned to be patient with her son years ago; especially on this topic.

As she waited, Martha could tell that this was something out of the ordinary. Her son rarely allowed his emotions to ricochet so wildly out of check. It was then that she realized that he hadn't just heard from or about Kate Beckett; he had seen her.

"What happened? Why is she back?"

Misery slashed his face, "3XK – Jerry Tyson. He killed three people in DC and one here. The murders were messages for me and Beckett." He took another drink and savored the burn down his throat, "And she is here with her people to save us, I guess. Wants to show us how this new job is allowing her to **do more**." Castle cringed as he used Kate's own words.

"Oh, my god, Richard," Martha crossed to him and put her arms around him as much out of needing to comfort as seeking comfort for her own fear. "That man almost put you in prison for murder and then tried to kill you on the bridge. I thought you killed him that night. How can this be happening?"

Martha's obvious distress and fear tapped Castle's emotional reserve and he responded like a good son, "Mother, everything will be alright. We are going to catch him, and we are perfectly safe here. There is a detail on the loft right now."

Martha pulled free of Castle's embrace, "Alexis! What about Alexis?"

"As we speak, she's being picked up from school and brought here where she will stay until this thing is over," Castle continued trying to comfort her.

Martha was clearly shaken; the wine not doing much to calm her, "Tell me about Katharine."

He didn't balk, but he took a moment to collect his thoughts, "She just walked into the precinct this afternoon like it was any other day. Only this time, she was suited up in her FED costume and working with Stack's team."

Martha was stunned, "You didn't know she was coming?"

He shook his head, "No, one did. Not even Gates."

"Oh, darling, I'm so sorry," it was all Martha knew to say.

"It felt like the floor dropped out from under me, Mother," he offered, "I couldn't even look at her."

"Did you two talk?"

Castle stared at her with incredulity, "Talk? I could hardly breathe."

Martha considered her next words carefully, "Richard, you know that she…"

Castle cut her off his eyes pleading, "Please just be my mother tonight. I really can't deal with you being her advocate right now."

Martha had not been going where Castle thought that she was when he cut her off. She freely admitted to once playing devil's advocate and to being the voice of reason in her son's head when it came to the free-spirited and ambitious Kate Beckett, but that was all in the past. Being the audience to the previous four months of her son's life had seen to that.

Martha thought she knew everything about her son and his coping mechanisms, but after Kate's lies of omission, rejection of his no strings attached proposal, and then her disappearing act; she had been thrust into a place in her relationship with Kate that had her taking a long look at herself and why she always seemed to see Kate's side of the issues better than those of her own son. She had been forced face first to see that in identifying with Kate to such an extent, that she had led her own son to believe that his mother was not going to be on his side. And it pained her greatly, that he felt that way tonight.

Castle's lifelong pattern had been to run away and hide when he was hurt. This time had been different. This time instead of retreating to a neutral mode, he'd come out swinging. He seemed to be in overdrive with everything. The first couple of months he never seemed to sleep. When he wasn't writing, he was at the precinct and vice versa. She had also expected him to break out his little black book and comfort himself with a string of vapid women and meaningless sex, but he hadn't done that either. That was when she knew that this time was different; that her son was different and instinctively she knew that the changes had become a part of who Richard now was. Kate Beckett had changed him in ways that Martha couldn't fathom. Ways she didn't understand. Kate had succeeded in making her son more of a stranger to her; and that was all the wake-up call that she needed.

Both of them heard the front door open and slam shut, "Dad!"

Castle bolted to the living room to meet his daughter, "Alexis."

She threw herself into her father's arms, "What's wrong? They wouldn't tell me anything other than I had to come home. I was so scared. I thought something had happened to you or Gram."

Castle stroked her hair and kissed her on top of her head, "I'm fine and Gram is fine."

Alexis wasn't buying the brush off, "Something has happened. What's going on? I know it's something really bad. I saw the protection detail out front."

"Come over here and sit down and I will explain it to you," Castle led her by the hand to the couch. Martha took the space on the other side of Alexis.

Castle was despairing to see the anxiety and fear in his daughter's face knowing that what he was going to tell her wasn't going to make it any better, "Alexis, Jerry Tyson, the 3XK killer is back in town, and he seems to be fixated on me and Beckett."

Alexis scrunched up her face like she did when she was a little girl, "He's dead. You shot him off that bridge."

Castle nodded, "Yes, I did. I shot him about eight times, but apparently that wasn't enough."

Alexis' face revealed her panic, "He's after you again, but why you?"

"Maybe he's jealous of my ruggedly handsome good looks," Castle tried to make her smile.

Alexis wasn't biting, "Seriously, what are you going to do?"

"I am going to catch him, sweetheart, and put him away where he can't hurt anyone else," Castle told her what he knew she needed to hear.

Alexis was clearly thinking about what she now knew. Martha and Castle let the silence play out so her emotions and racing mind could catch up with one another.

Finally, Alexis spoke, "You said he was after you and Beckett."

Seeing Richard's face, Martha piped in, "Yes, that's true."

Alexis searched her father's face and saw it, "She's back, isn't she?"

Castle nodded. Alexis took his hand, "Have you seen her?"

Her dad nodded again, "Daddy, I'm sorry." Suddenly Alexis was hugging Castle with the ferocity only a little girl can muster when she is trying to protect her father.

"I'm okay," he cupped her face in his hands.

"What did she say?" Alexis pressed.

"Nothing, we didn't talk," Castle answered.

"Are you going to work with her?" Alexis was becoming more upset.

"I have to do whatever it takes to put an end to this thing," Castle was clearly talking about more than ending 3XK.

"You know this isn't okay," stray tears ran down her face.

"Which part?" Castle asked himself, but he just smiled at his daughter. "It will be when we catch Tyson."

The family of three sat in the midnight darkened room huddled together struggling to come to terms within themselves with the twisting turn of events that were clicking together like ivory. A chain reaction was underway and no one in the room was under any misconceptions about what it meant. Nothing was certain except the present moment and they held on to it for dear life.


	10. Chapter 10

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 10

Castle was sleeping deeply. He was dreaming about someone, but he couldn't quite hold on to her. There was something pulling him out of it; something his conscious mind wouldn't let him ignore. After struggling to stay asleep a while longer, he gave up and opened his eyes.

The room was completely dark save for a few light shards zagging through the room. Castle realized that he had fallen asleep in his office chair again. He decided that his bed was the best place to try and recapture his dream.

"I wouldn't do that," a voice lacerated the darkness.

Castle froze, but his eyes strained to search the area of the room the voice had come from, "Who's there?"

"Aw, come on, Castle, I thought we knew each other better than that," the voice was full of reproach.

"Tyson," Castle couldn't see him, but he knew where he was now.

Soundlessly he stepped out of the shadows and into the anemic light filtering through the windows. The outline of a gun with a silencer in Tyson's hand was unmistakable. He stopped by the scotch decanter and poured two drinks. He moved to the front of Castle's desk and slid one across to him. Castle reached up and grasped it stopping its progress towards the edge.

"Cheers," he raised his glass toward Castle and downed about half the eighty proof liquid.

"What do you want?" Castle was still trying to focus in the darkness.

"I thought it would be nice if we met for a drink. I wanted to talk. I really enjoyed our conversation in the holding cell. It was fun, didn't you think?"

Castle realized that it had to be just as difficult for Tyson to see him, so he began slowly reaching for the top right hand drawer of his desk. In it was a gun he had loaded for just such an occasion.

"So talk," Castle urged.

"How does it feel, Castle, to know that I come and go through your life whenever the mood strikes? I slip in and out of your skin deciding what I'm going to take from you next. That everything you still have – ," he paused and stepped a little closer, "exists because I allow it? Like those two upstairs."

Castle's anger flared and he yanked the drawer violently and felt for the gun. It wasn't there.

"Looking for this?" Tyson was laughing at him. "How often do you check that drawer? Do you even know how long it's been missing?"

Castle wondered why he was even surprised. Tyson was always three steps ahead. Of course he had found the gun. He had set the stage for this meeting and the control was completely his.

"I thought that you would have at least thanked me by now," Tyson was completely relaxed.

"For what? Killing four innocent people to get our attention?" Castle let his frustration show.

"That's why you won't catch me. You fail to see the forest for the trees," Tyson took another drink from his glass. "I know you are not going to believe me, but I did it for you."

"You're even crazier than I thought," Castle argued not caring about the consequences.

Tyson further reduced the distance between himself and Castle. He was so close that Castle could almost reach out and touch him, but he knew that Tyson was trying to provoke him into making a move, so he kept one hand on his scotch and the other on the arm of the chair.

"I got her back here for you, didn't I?"

Castle knew exactly who Tyson was talking about, "We're not together anymore, so why does it matter?"

That seemed to anger Tyson tremendously, "It matters! It matters!"

Castle held up his free hand in a calming fashion. He had to keep Tyson more relaxed or he would wake up Alexis and his mother and they would come down stairs and all hell would break loose, "Okay, it matters. Explain it to me."

"Our relationship began with a certain set of players. Each of those players brings something to the table. A skill, a strength, an exploitable weakness," Tyson's instability was leaking through his facade as he spoke. He pointed the gun at Castle's face, "There was you and me, of course. And Kate, that cop Ryan whose gun I took, and his partner Esposito. I'm even okay with the lady ME and your Captain being involved. Oh, and there's your mommy and little girl. They're fair game too."

Afraid of setting him off with the gun only inches from his face, Castle gave Tyson the attention he craved and just continued to listen.

"Do you know how much time and planning goes into something like this? I've spent months preparing for this meeting after you didn't buy my demise off the bridge." That seemed to distract him. "Tell me, where did I go wrong?"

Castle still didn't speak, "Answer me!" Tyson ordered in a voice that was too loud.

"I..I don't know. I just knew," Castle stammered. "It was too clean. It was too perfect."

Tyson laughed, "I like that answer. It's the truth. You did just know, didn't you?"

Castle's fear was growing as Tyson's anxiety increased. He had to keep him quiet. If the girls woke up, Castle didn't know how he would keep them safe.

Tyson calmed himself down with a few deep breaths before returning to his purpose for their chat, "I need you to fix this."

"Fix what?" Castle was confused. Tyson had to be losing it.

"The extras in our little play have to go, and you are going to make that happen," Tyson finally relaxed his arm letting the gun fall to his side.

"Who are you talking about?"

"The FEDs, except for Beckett, she stays," he sounded resolute on this point. "And you're new girlfriend; Mac is it?"

Castle ground his teeth together so he wouldn't say anything inflammatory.

"If I see her around this case again – let's just say she's blonde enough for my taste," Tyson's voice was guttural and threatening.

As though he had flipped a switch, Tyson's face suddenly relaxed and his voice returned to normal, "However; I'm perfectly fine with you screwing her. She's hot and as a guy, you know, I get that; needs and all. And hey, you do realize that the new one and the old one look a hell of a lot alike. A little transference going on, Castle? If you can't have the one you want – get something damn close?"

Castle's mind was reeling and his throat was throbbing in fury. Tyson was taunting him and he was searching for words that were going to get his family out of this night alive, "Are we done?"

"Almost. I need you to give Detective… I mean Agent Beckett a message for me since she couldn't be with us tonight, and her move to DC has been the biggest kink in my arrangements," Tyson's voice had reacquired its threatening tone.

"And what's that?" Castle prompted.

"This is what happens when you screw with my plans!" As he was speaking Tyson pointed the gun at Castle, locked eyes with him, and pulled the trigger.


	11. Chapter 11

**Story note – Please know there is no desire to disappoint with the path of this story – but since my goal is to remain true to the characters and the heart of the series itself (Which is the relationship between Beckett and Castle), that will undoubtedly be the case.**

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 11

The gun sounded to Castle like a shot from a potato gun. It made a kind of swoosh as the bullet left the barrel. After the bullet tore through his left chest and shoulder, Castle watched Tyson pick up the phone, dial and then place the phone back on the table face up without ever speaking into it.

"Don't forget to give Beckett my message, Castle. It's really important that she understand that this one's on her," he said and then he was gone.

Castle heard the front door open and close. His only thought was to get to his mother and Alexis. Tyson had threatened them and he had to be sure they were safe.

When Castle stood, he was hit with a huge wave of nausea and dizziness and the most intense pain he had ever endured. He used his left hand to steady himself on the desk top, but there was so much blood running down his arm from his wound that when he put his weight on it he crashed to the floor. Castle tried unsuccessfully to get back up several times, but he kept slipping in his own blood.

Through his eyes, the room was beginning to look like a fun house mirror, and he began to fear that he would pass out. He tried to rest and garner enough strength to try to get up one more time and get to his family, but all he could do was lay there and try to keep breathing. He felt his eye lids getting heavier, and to his immense surprise, the searing pain in his chest began to subside and he was suddenly very cold. He knew that wasn't a good sign. Pain let's us know we are alive and our body is still in a position to ask for help. Experience told him that when the pain was gone, he'd be gone too. What light there was in the room was fading to black, and Castle gave up fighting the drag he felt on his consciousness. His last thought was a prayer that his daughter wouldn't be the one to find him.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Javi and Kevin were closing out their day hanging out at the Ryan's watching some classic college football on cable. They had managed to pull a save out of the mostly working Saturday by throwing some burgers and dogs on the grill and spending a couple of hours cleaning out the room that was going to become the nursery for little Baby Ryan.

By some weird unspoken agreement, neither of the men had mentioned Beckett's unexpected arrival at the precinct and how it had affected both of them in a similar way; it had aroused their anger toward her and elicited intensely protective feelings toward Castle. Even if they didn't talk about it, that didn't stop them from thinking about it; especially now that they had settled down long enough for their thoughts to catch up with them.

"I'll get us some more beers," Ryan said jumping up and heading toward the kitchen.

Within a couple of minutes of him leaving the room his cell started ringing. "Hey, bro, your phone!"

Kevin was already heading back into the room with beer and chips, "Put it on speaker for me, will ya?"

Espo complied, "Ryan," Kevin yelled in the direction of the phone.

"Detective Ryan, this is Helen Williams a night supervisor at the 911 Operations Center."

Ryan froze, "Yes. Is there a problem?"

"You put a Notify Immediately flag on the home and cell of a Richard Castle?" she continued.

Espo and Kevin exchanged nervous glances, "Yes, I did."

"I am calling to report an incident on the home number of Mr. Castle. Two minutes ago an open line 911 call came into the center. Police have been dispatched to the residence."

Espo jumped in, "Is the line still open?"

"Yes, sir, it is, but we have been unable to get a response."

It only took ten seconds for them to get out of the house and into the car. Espo grabbed Ryan's cell, "Patch me through to the officers responding to the call now!"

The thirty seconds it took to connect felt like an eternity, "This is Detective Javier Esposito, we are less than two minutes from your location. Do not enter the building. It is possible that serial murderer Jerry Tyson is on the premises. He is armed and extremely dangerous. I repeat. He is armed and extremely dangerous."

The car arrived at Castle's loft less than a minute later. Javi and Kevin ran guns drawn into the building followed by the uniformed officers that had been waiting for them. When they reached the door to Castle's place, Kevin took the left and Javi the right. Kevin tried the door – it was locked. Javi prepared to kick it in. Kevin gave him the go ahead nod.

Javi's adrenaline fueled kicked took it down in one, "NYPD! Police!" They all rushed the room.

Martha and Alexis appeared at the top of the stairs startled from sleep by the door being kicked in, "What's going on?" Martha yelled pulling Alexis to her.

"Where's Castle?" Kevin demanded.

"What?" Martha was trying to understand what was happening.

"Where's Castle?" they demanded in unison

The uniforms were clearing the downstairs area when one of them called out from the office, "In here! We got one down! We need EMS!"

Martha and Alexis began running down the stairs toward the office. Kevin and Javi exchanged glances, "Stop them," they ordered one of the uniforms. "Don't let them in this office."

Martha and Alexis were yelling and crying trying to get past the officer to their son and father. Espo and Ryan pushed their way into Castle's office, "Clear the upstairs, we got this."

Castle was lying unconscious on the floor by his desk in a large pool of dark red blood that spread out extensively from his body. His face was ashen, but they knew he was alive because the loudest sound in the room was Castle struggling to take in each ragged breath. Ryan took over applying pressure to the wound from the officer who had found him, "Where's that freaking ambulance?"

"They're coming, bro," Espo assured him his face oozing the anguish he was battling.

Kevin looked down at his friend trying to find some hopeful sign, "Castle, we're here. Don't you dare fucking die on me. Help is coming."

Espo and Ryan could hear Alexis and Martha still trying to get to Castle. "I gotta go and tell them something," Esposito explained as he left the room.

As Espo stepped out of the office, the EMS team arrived and pushed by him racing to Castle's side. He pulled the door closed behind him and signaled the officer to let them come the rest of the way down the stairs. Once they reached him, he led them to the couch.

Alexis was sobbing, "My dad. Is he…?"

"He's alive. He has at least one gunshot wound. It's to his upper left shoulder and chest area," Espo explained as gently as he could.

Martha continued to try and comfort Alexis as she cried, "How? Who? We didn't hear a shot! Why would someone shoot my dad?"

"Clear a path! We gotta move! We're critical!" The EMS team was racing at top speed for the door with Castle's stock-still body.

"Dad!" Alexis cried and she ran toward him, but Kevin got to her before she could reach the gurney.

Kevin held her by the shoulders and told her, "Go upstairs and get dressed, so we can get you to the hospital."

That seemed to make sense to her and she nodded absently then did as she was told.

Kevin, obviously shaken, stood there with Castle's blood all over his hands and shirt, "He never woke up, Javi."

Espo grabbed his phone, "Lanie - I have to let her know. You call Gates."

Just like earlier in day, neither one of them mentioned Beckett.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

The look on Kate's face said it all when Lanie opened the door for her friend, "Hell of a day?"

Kate nodded as she stepped through the door and into the arms of the first friendly face she had see in a while, "Hell of a day."

Lanie held on to Kate for an extra second or two and whispered, "I'm glad you're here, girl."

When they separated, Lanie could see tears in Kate's eyes, "Me too, Lanie, me too."

Lanie grabbed Kate's arm and pulled her into the living room where she had a plate of crackers, fruit and cheese laid out and two freshly poured glasses of wine, "I figured you probably haven't eaten and needed a glass of wine or three."

The two women settled on opposite ends of the couch, but turned in where they could easily see one another. Lanie thought Kate looked even thinner than usual and like she hadn't been sleeping, "So, you ready to spill?"

Kate took her drink ignoring the food, "Things are so out of control. I had no idea when I took this job that things would spiral out of control leaving every relationship I had trashed."

"The job isn't what trashed your relationships. You did that all by yourself," Lanie's voice was even and friendly, but her words hit hard and stung.

Kate stood and began to pace the room. She took several sips from her glass before she could bring herself to speak, "I know I messed everything up. Not just the job thing, but how I handled everything with everybody." The more Kate talked the more she picked up speed, "You're the only one still talking to me. It was awful at the precinct. Espo wouldn't even look at me and Kevin looked at me, but the way he looked at me; he hates me, Lanie. They all do."

Kate slowed down for a breath giving Lanie an opening, "Hate's a strong word."

Kate looked at her suspicious about where this was heading.

"Look, Kate, I've never been one to sugar coat things with you and I'm not going to start now," Lanie served up the honesty as gently as she could. "From my perspective, you already had it all; a great job where you were highly successful and respected that you loved going to everyday, friends who would walk through fire for you without you even having to ask, and a man that I know you loved who was literally willing to give his life to save yours."

Kate felt a chill wash over her as the truth in what Lanie was saying seeped in.

"I love you. I really do, but I didn't get it then and I don't get it now. How could all that have not been enough? How could the way that man loved you not be enough? What was the more you were looking for that was worth losing what you had with him?" Lanie's eyes filled with unshed tears, but what Kate saw in her friend most distinctly was disappointment. Lanie waited for Kate to say something. To defend herself. Anything. And when she didn't, Lanie continued, "The only thing I can conclude is that..," she hesitated as if giving herself one last chance to change her mind. "You're broken, Kate. You're broken and you break the people who love you."

Kate heard what Lanie said and struggled to find the words to fight the accusation but they eluded her. She suddenly wanted to be anywhere other than where she was. She was looking for a way out. Just like she always did when things got real.

Just then Lanie's text alert sounded on her phone, "Hang on. Let me make sure this isn't work." Lanie glanced at her phone and saw a text from Esposito. "911 Castle Shot. Critical. In route to hospital.

"Oh, god, Kate," Lanie's face was panic stricken as she handed her phone to Kate.

Kate read the message and a blinding flash of pain surged through her that made her feel as though she had been physically struck,"Castle."

Lanie grabbed her phone from Kate's hand, "I have to go. You better stay here. I'll call you the minute I know something." The door slammed and Lanie was gone before Kate could even formulate a response.


	12. Chapter 12

**This is me tipping my hat to Heypiassano for his help with the Alexis dialogue – and for being my "Writer Buddy"**

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 12

The tight-knit group of friends didn't miss the relevance of where they stood gathered together. The hallway outside the emergency room suite where Castle was being treated was the same one where they had waited for word on Beckett when a sniper almost took her life over two years before.

Kevin had slid down the wall and was resting his head in hands covered in Castle's dried blood. He was clearly traumatized. He had been the one to press his hands over an unconscious Castle's wound desperately trying to staunch the overwhelming flow of blood that had continued to drain freely through his fingers no matter how hard he pressed.

Espo paced an eight foot patch of floor staying close to Ryan; his empathy for his partner's emotional state amplifying his own.

Alexis and her grandmother stood huddled together. Silent tears of anguish streamed down Martha's face as she stood with protective arms around her sobbing granddaughter.

Gates talked urgently on the phone part way down the hall to someone who was apparently questioning her about the incident at great length.

No one was talking, but the voices in their own heads were continuous and overwhelmingly loud.

"Javi!" Lanie was running toward him from the far end of the hallway. He walked to meet her and took her in his arms for an embrace that was a comfort to both.

"How is he?" she asked apprehensive to hear the answer.

Javi ran his hand over his face and shifted uncomfortably trying to manage his emotions, "It's bad, Lanie. He's lost a lot of blood. He was unconscious when we found him and, uh…ummm," Javi had to stop for a minute.

Lanie's heart was breaking as she watched a tear slip down Javi's face, "What else, Javi, tell me."

He swiped angrily at the tear, "He was… he couldn't breathe. I think the bullet hit a lung."

"But he was breathing?" Lanie clarified.

Javi nodded, "Yah, Yah,… he was when they took him from the loft."

Lanie glanced over at Kevin who was still against the wall; head in bloody hands, "Is he okay?"

Javi didn't know the answer, "That's all Castle's blood, but he hasn't said a word since we got here."

"I'm going to go over and see about little Castle and Martha," Lanie rubbed Javi's arm as he nodded his understanding.

As Lanie moved away from him, she heard more people arriving from behind her. She turned and saw that it was Jenny and that Allie was with her. She figured that when Kevin called Jenny and told her about Castle, that she must have called Allie. She decided that she would let Espo deal with their arrival.

Seeing Alexis so distraught was more than Lanie could stand and as she took her into an embrace, her own tears broke free. Lanie and Alexis had formed a sincere bond while she had been interning at the morgue. Working with her had been pivotal in Lanie's transition from seeing Castle as just Kate's boyfriend and a famous playboy mystery novelist, to a guy who was a great father and man. Alexis was an exceptional person, and Lanie knew that Castle was largely responsible for that.

After a moment she pulled away taking Alexis' face in both of her hands, "You listen to me."

Alexis stopped sobbing and nodded, but tears were still streaking down her cheeks.

"Your dad is the strongest man I know. He's a fighter and he doesn't give up. Not when he has a shot. He got here alive, Alexis, so he has a shot," Lanie put every bit of conviction she could muster into her words and they seemed to work, at least for the moment, because Alexis took a deep breath and stopped crying.

Lanie then took a moment to comfort Martha, but she turned around when she heard Alexis announce in a voice filling with controlled indignation, "No. No. She can't be here."

Everyone in the hallway followed Alexis' steely gaze to where she had locked on to Kate who had been stopped by Gates from getting any closer to the family of friends holding vigil. Even Ryan, who had been immovable from his slumped position against the wall stood up and took a few steps toward Beckett. Jenny, relieved that Kevin had finally responded to something, stood beside him and held supportively on to his arm.

Gates realizing that the group appeared mobilized by Kate's presence told her, "Beckett, I don't know if you being here is such a good idea; particularly after what happened at the station today."

Kate's expression was desperate, "I just have to see if he's okay, Sir, please."

"Agent, this isn't about you," Gates' voice and face were pitiless. "What you are doing now is trying to help yourself and that's not fair to all those other people down there who are here for him. And you need to realize that these are not your people anymore. Your people are back at the precinct, which is where you should be right now trying to hunt down Tyson. That's how you can help them. That's how you can help him."

Kate looked past Gates to all the faces that were staring at her. She couldn't believe the mammoth wall that stood between them. A wall she had built decision by decision to keep anyone from getting too close, until one day, the day she walked away, they all stopped trying to get over it or through it or under it. Instead, the wall that Kate built had come to serve a new purpose; it protected them from her.

In that moment of self-realization, Kate turned back the way she came.

"Beckett, wait!" Alexis called to her striding forward separating herself from the rest of the group, but each of them instinctively moved toward the building confrontation.

Kate stopped and waited letting Alexis take the lead. She stopped short barely two feet from Kate, "What are you doing here?" Her voice was demanding without a hint of insecurity.

Kate was taken aback by how much she sounded like her father when he had asked her that exact same question, "I had to come, Alexis. I love him."

Kate's use of the word love seemed to trigger Alexis. She didn't yell, she didn't cry, and she didn't rant, but she did have something to say, "Whatever you think you gave my dad, it wasn't love. You never had the intent or the commitment to truly love him. He was never your first choice when there was one to be made when you were together. And the times that you did choose him, it was always as an after thought. I was just a kid, but I couldn't understand why he let you jerk him around over and over again. I kept telling myself that he must've seen something in you that I didn't. Now I know that he allowed himself to be deceived by his love for you, and you took what he offered and used it as means to keep him from seeing what you are; selfish and unable to commit to anyone other than yourself."

Kate's legs felt weak under her, but she remained immobile knowing that she owed Alexis the opportunity to finish, "I'm asking you to leave my dad alone; leave my family alone. He doesn't need your pity or your presence. He's spent these last few months in perpetual motion trying like hell not to get sucked in by the devastation you left behind when you decided that some stupid job in DC was more important than he was. So please Agent Beckett, do what obviously comes the most easily to you; leave."

Alexis turned away from Kate and back into the arms of her grandmother. Kate's eyes briefly met Martha's and the disappointment, fear and pain that she saw there was scathing in its intensity.

Kate looked into all of their faces – Javi, Kevin, Lanie, Alexis, and Martha and was overcome with the weight of self awareness; she had broken them with when and how she left. She had been blinded by her own ambition and fears and therefore hadn't seen or considered theirs. And most damning of all was what she had done to Castle.


	13. Chapter 13

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 13

Kate escaped the hospital corridor barely holding herself together. Her mind clashing with the harsh realities that she had been forced to confront at the hands of those who meant the most to her. She tried unsuccessfully to put it all away in her head but there was no place deep enough. The recriminations just kept forcing their way through, "You're broken, Kate, and you break the people who love you…you never loved my dad…selfish…unable to commit to anyone but yourself…do what comes most easily to you and leave!"

Shoving open the doors leading to the parking lot, a cool blast of pre daybreak air hit her and that was all it took. Waves of eviscerating sobs tore from her center bringing her physically to her knees. She was all alone in a dark place; literally and figuratively, and for once, Kate didn't try to control the pain, deny, or escape it; she just let it take her.

Sometime later, Kate stood and breathed deeply of the new morning and was grateful because in a moment of pure self actualization, she understood what had brought her to this juncture. They were right; all of them. She was broken and selfish and afraid of commitment and her actions had cost her the people who defined her life and maybe she did break the people that she loved, but there was one thing that they were wrong about – Castle. He had been right all along; she had loved him from the moment they met. It was true then, it was true now and always would be no matter how things played out.

Kate was jarred out of her thoughts by her cell phone. She ripped it from her pocket hoping that it would be Lanie with some word about Castle. It was Stack.

She cleared her voice and tried to hold it steady, "Beckett, we need you at Castle's loft."

"On my way," Kate replied and disconnected the call.

The drive from the hospital to the loft provided the opportunity for Kate to restore her composure. Though she was emotionally shredded, she held on tightly to her epiphany from the parking lot.

The entrance to Castle's building was taped off and still under uniformed guard. There were multiple camera vans, reporters and paparazzi waiting for any vestige of information they could exploit for a sound bite in time for the morning news. As she approached the tape, she flashed her AG badge and was grateful when she managed to slip through unnoticed.

Kate couldn't help becoming apprehensive as she approached the door to the loft. When she saw that it had been kicked cleanly off its hinges, she knew it was Esposito's handy work and she actually managed a weak smile. Breathing deeply, she stepped into the loft knowing that this crime scene would be like no other. This one was as personal as it could get.

"Agent Beckett, good, you're here," Stack called to her. He looked her over taking measure, "You sure you're okay being here?"

Kate nodded, "Yes, Sir, I'm here to work."

"The real scene is in the office," Stack was walking toward the office door expecting her to follow.

As they reached the threshold, Stack seemed to have second thoughts, "Kate, it's pretty bad in here."

Kate was resolute, "I need to get in there."

Stack stepped aside and let Kate go first, "Do you want me to give you a minute alone?"

"Yes, please," Kate's voice was monotone and even, but her thoughts were tearing through her brain like a cyclone.

The first thing that knocked Kate loose of her resolve was the acrid smell of blood. With an odor that strong, she knew there had to be a lot of it and when she saw the size of the blood pool beside the desk, she sucked in an involuntary breath and her hand flew to her mouth to stifle a cry. Experience had taught her that blood loss that great usually led to a less than favorable outcome for the victim; for Castle.

Stack entered the room, "Here's what we know."

Kate interrupted as if remembering, "Castle was in his chair. He had fallen asleep writing. He woke up about 1:00 a.m. from some kind of dream and decided to go to bed."

Stack didn't have to ask how she knew. He could tell that she was using her intimate knowledge of his habits to help her fill in the blanks.

"He realized that he wasn't alone," her eyes dropped on the empty open drawer. "He went for his gun, but it was gone. Tyson already had it because he'd been here before."

She examined the blood pattern on the chair and the area around it, "He shot him while Castle was just sitting there; helpless."

Kate had slipped away into her own mind as she analyzed the scene, but she wasn't just analyzing another crime scene, she was seeing what had happened to someone she loved. It was excruciating, but there was no way she was going to let Stack see that.

"Tyson called 911 and left the line open," Stack offered. "He wanted Castle found quickly."

"Are we absolutely sure it was Tyson?" Kate had to ask.

Stack nodded toward the laptop sitting open on Castle's desk, "He left you a message."

Kate walked behind the desk, touched the mouse pad and the screen lit up:

Kate,

I wanted you to know the last words your boyfriend heard before I put a bullet in him because this night was about you. This is what happens when someone screws with my plans.

It was signed 3XK

Kate's gut reaction slipped out, "He did this because he thought that Castle might die before he could tell me."

Stack had another thought, "Or he figured Castle wouldn't tell you to protect you from the guilt knowing would cause."

Kate wrested her gaze from the screen and walked over to the window and stared out.

Stack watched her for a few seconds, "You know this isn't your fault."

She whirled around to face him, "Yes, it is."

"3XK is a narcissistic psychotic sociopath who has fixated on you and Castle. You profiled him yourself. He kills because he likes it. You are just his most recent excuse."

"I know that, Sir."

"Then how is this your fault?"

"I wasn't here, Stack. He was my partner. He was my…," she caught her next words before they got free. "I didn't have his back and that failure just may have killed him. So, yah, Tyson's right. This one's mine."

Stack studied her and could tell that nothing he could say right now was going change her mind.

Kate snapped out of her dark thoughts, "Are we done, here?"

Stack nodded, "You are."

Kate took a last look around Castle's office. She rummaged through a hundred memories she had in that office of him, of her, of them; each one more painfully beautiful than the last. When she walked away from the most personal crime scene of her life, that is what she took with her.


	14. Chapter 14

**A special thanks to Codedriver for help with all the medical references.**

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 14

The sun was coming up, but none of them knew it. No one, including Victoria Gates, was moving from the sterile hallway outside the operating suite until they knew; for better or worse, the scope of the indelible impression this personal attack by 3XK would leave on each of them.

Every face showed the night's strain. Kevin, Jenny and Mac sat side by side in the same spot where Kevin had been slumped earlier. Javi and Lanie were shoulder to shoulder next to them leaning against the wall for support. Alexis and Martha sat in two chairs that Javi had swiped from the actual family waiting room down the hall. Gates stood like a sentinel in front of her people staring with her arms crossed at the operating room door.

As if her glare really had magical powers, the door opened and an exhausted doctor came toward them removing his mask. As they gathered together in the center of the hallway, their unease increased as they processed the look on the surgeon's face.

Alexis, Martha and Allie were maneuvered to the front of the grouping by the others as the doctor began to fill them in, "He made it through." There was an unmistakable tremor of relief. "However, his injuries are extensive. He lost a whole lot of blood due to damage sustained by the subclavian vein from the impact of the bullet. This made it necessary that he be transfused to replace close to half his blood volume. The bullet also hit his clavicle and a piece of bone broke free and damaged his lung causing a hemothorax."

Lanie spoke trying to make what the doctor was saying clear to everyone, "So his lung collapsed and filled with blood?"

"Exactly," the surgeon confirmed. "He does have a chest tube to keep the lung clear and draining of any excess blood, and we will monitor him closely so that he doesn't become hypoxic or develop an infection. We've put him on high doses of antibiotics to try and ward off that possibility."

Martha interjected, "Is an infection likely?"

The doctor hesitated, "Given the trauma that his body has gone through, and the fact that most people don't wash bullets before using them, it would not be surprising. We are going to do all we can to see that it doesn't."

"When can we see him?" Alexis managed to ask with a surprisingly steady voice.

The surgeon glanced at Gates, "It may be awhile I'm afraid. He needs to be moved to ICU and my understanding is that security protocols are being arranged for his protection."

Gates took over at that point, "That's correct. We have appropriated a section of the ICU where he will be under 24 hour guard, and we are in the process of clearing the personnel that will be allowed to care for Mr. Castle, as well as, generating an approved list of visitors. It is probably going to be a couple of hours before we are up and running."

"Keep in mind that he is currently heavily sedated and the best thing for him right now is rest, so you all might want to get some sleep or at least something to eat," the doctor encouraged.

"I'm not leaving until I see my dad," Alexis was adamant.

Martha nodded in agreement, "I think it might be a good idea to try and eat something though." She turned to Allie having noticed that the detective hadn't spoken a word in the last hour, "Allison, would you like to join us for a bite?"

Allie smiled gratefully, "Sure, thank you. I would like that."

Gates told the group before she walked away, "I'm going to personally oversee the security arrangements."

Jenny looked to Kevin, "What do you need to do, Kev?"

Pain was deeply etched in his face, "I'm sorry, Jenny, I need to stay here." Kevin absently touched his sidearm, "Someone has to be with him until everything is secure upstairs."

Jenny nodded with understanding, "But I also need to know you and the baby are okay, so will you please go home and rest for me? If I know you're safe, then I can do what I need to do for Castle."

Jenny hugged him, "I'll do whatever you want me to; you know that. Will you call me when you have any more news?" He assured her that he would and smiled warmly at her with gratitude and relief.

Lanie pulled Javi aside, "I need to find, Kate. She's been through her own special kind of hell today."

Javi's reaction came from a purely emotional place, "She shouldn't have come here."

Lowering her voice Lanie explained, "Javi, she deserves to know he's alive. We're not together anymore, but wouldn't you want to know if it was me?"

He nodded, but there were no signs his feelings about Kate were thawing, "I'm going to stay here and back up my partner."

Everyone had a plan or a task, so Lanie headed for the exit relieved that as serious as the news was, Castle was alive and at that moment, that was enough.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Jim Beckett had been worried for his daughter since she decided to take the DC job, but the images on the television screen magnified his concern a hundred fold. Rick Castle had been gunned down in his loft overnight and was undergoing emergency surgery. He was listed in critical condition. The news didn't tell him a lot, but it told him enough to know that wherever his daughter was, she was in hell. He grabbed the remote and channel surfed until he found a report on another station.

He was so engrossed in the story that he didn't hear Kate come in. The despair in her voice twisted his heart, "Dad, please turn that off."

Jim turned to Kate and was disquieted by how emotionally decimated she appeared, "Katie, I just saw the news. How is he?"

Kate shook her head, "I know he was alive an hour ago."

Her father looked at her quizzically, "You didn't go to the hospital?"

"I did," she was matter of fact. "They didn't want me there."

"Who didn't want you there?"

"Everyone."

Jim sought her eyes with his, "I'm sorry, Katie."

Kate seemed to be somewhere else, "Castle was shot because of me."

Jim tried to understand where she was coming from, "Katie, you're not responsible for the actions of a serial killer."

"I am when it happened because of decisions I made," Kate struggled to keep her composure. "No matter what our problems, from day one, Castle and I had each other's back. He tried to tell me that Tyson was still out there, but I didn't believe him. I was wrong and now…," Kate's voice trailed off.

Jim rested his gaze on her a moment more and made a decision of his own, "When you told me at the diner that what you wanted was the job, it troubled me because I knew this day would come where you would sit across from me full of remorse and regret."

"How could you know that?" Kate was surprised by her father's admission.

"Because I know you, Katie; and you had never been in love before. Not really. Not until Rick," her father shared his insights but with compassion and a father's filter. "Even when you were still with Josh, all you talked about was Rick. I saw how lost you were when the two of you would have a falling out of some kind and take several months apart. I also saw you happier than I ever thought you could be when you two got together last year." He paused for a moment as if remembering, "And the way you looked at him was how your mother looked at me."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

He wryly smiled at her, "Your mother was the only one who could ever _tell _you anything."

She managed a weak smile of agreement, "I don't know how to fix this."

Jim stared at his only child trying to find a way to reach her, "After your mother died. I left you for the inside of a bottle. I left you for five years to deal with a drunk and the loss of your mother all by yourself. I know that you have forgiven me, but I also know that you will never forget how it felt for me to choose alcohol over you. I know my actions changed you; made you more afraid of being abandoned after your mother was taken from you, and I have to live with that all over again every time you run from someone who loves you."

Kate didn't argue the point, but continued to listen intently, "Katie, you have to make amends. It's the only way this thing won't be the first thought you have every morning and the last one you have at night for the foreseeable future. If you run again, it will be an albatross around your neck that influences every single future relationship you try to have with anyone."

"What if it's already too late?"

Her father moved to Kate and took her hands, "It's never too late to make amends. Amends aren't about seeking forgiveness, sweetheart. Amends are about owning our mistakes out in the open with the people we have hurt without expecting anything from them in return. It isn't our choice to be forgiven or not. That's up to them. What is our choice is the way that we take responsibility and face our misdeeds."

Kate looked miserable and Jim gently touched her face, "I can't promise you that you will get back everything you lost if you do this, but I can promise that you will be able to find a way to co-exist with what's happened in a way that will allow you to move on."

Kate's phone announced a new text. It was Lanie. "Meet me at my place ASAP!"

Kate's anxiety rose, "It's Lanie! She wants me to meet her right now."

Her dad hugged her as tightly as he dared, "Go, but promise me you'll think about what I said."

She hugged him back and added a kiss on his cheek, "I promise."

Jim Beckett watched his little girl run out the door realizing that tonight he had wanted to just be her friend, hold her and tell her that nothing was her fault and that everything would work itself out. Instead he had done the hard thing, and what he hoped was the right thing – he had been her father.


	15. Chapter 15

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 15

When Lanie opened the door she found Kate breathless and anxious, "How is he?"

"He's alive," Lanie reassured her as Kate brushed by her into the apartment.

Kate's face telegraphed her unease, "Is he conscious?"

Lanie shook her head and said, "Kate, sit down and I will tell you what I know."

Kate did as she was asked, "He's still critical. The bullet did a lot of damage, hit a major vein and he almost bled out. Things got more complicated when his lung collapsed and filled with blood."

Kate's face was paler than Lanie had ever seen it, "Oh, god, Lanie, is he going to die?"

"When I left the hospital he wasn't conscious, but if they can keep him stable and post-op infections at bay, he's got a good chance."

Kate didn't look any less frightened than when Lanie had begun talking, "They were setting up security to get him moved to ICU."

Kate stared straight ahead as if considering what she had been told, "Who's in charge of security?"

"Gates is orchestrating everything from a secure location in ICU to clearing personnel and visitors."

Kate looked Lanie in the eyes with resignation, "I guess that's a list I won't make."

Lanie couldn't help but feel for her, "Probably not, sweetie. Not after what little Castle said."

Kate blanched, "I deserved what she said; both barrels. But she was wrong about one thing, I love him. I had no idea how much until the last forty eight hours. And I know that makes me look like a complete ass, but it's the truth."

Lanie stared at her friend. She knew Kate better than anyone and she believed she was sincere. What she didn't know was if her sincerity would extend past the next 48 hours. Lanie had watched Kate behave so erratically in recent months that she just didn't know what to think.

"I know I don't have the right to see him…," Kate took a deep breath.

Lanie stood and headed for the kitchen trying to put some distance between herself and whatever it was Kate was going to ask of her, "Now stop right there, Kate Beckett."

Kate followed her, "Lanie, please, you have to help me."

Lanie gave her the look, "No, I do not. Not with this."

Kate continued to plead with her, "Why not?"

Lanie knew what she was going to say was not going to go over well, but it was the truth as she saw it at present, "Because I'm not sure you should; at least not right now."

Kate's heart dropped into her stomach.

"Castle should have a say in this and right now he can't. So I'm sorry; you are just going to have to wait."

Kate knew that tone. Lanie never changed her mind when she used that tone, but Kate wasn't giving up. There was always tomorrow.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

The conversation with Lanie had been an honest one, but Kate wasn't sure if it had been particularly productive. So when Lanie had offered to let her try to get some sleep in her guest room, Kate had taken her up on it not because she thought she could sleep, but in the hopes that something might come to her that would persuade Lanie that helping Kate get into the intensive care unit was a good idea.

To her surprise and some dismay, she did sleep. In fact, she slept almost ten hours. The moment she was clear headed enough to dial, Kate was on the phone to the hospital. After several transfers, she was finally in touch with someone at the ICU nurses station, "ICU; Sharon speaking."

"Hi, this is Agent Kate Beckett with the Attorney General's Office; I am calling to check on the condition of a patient."

The young nurse on the phone sounded impressed, "Which patient is that Agent Beckett?"

She cleared her throat, "Richard Castle, he was brought in last night with a GSW to the chest."

"We are limited on the information we can release over the phone about Mr. Castle, Agent Beckett, but what I can tell you is that he is still critical, but currently stable."

Kate released a breath she didn't know she had been holding, "Has he regained consciousness even briefly?"

"Not that I am aware of," the nurse told her gently sensing that this call was more personal than professional.

"Thank you for the information," and Kate hung up.

Kate made her way to the kitchen. Lanie was nowhere to be seen, but she had left Kate a note on the kitchen counter saying that she had been called in to work and for Kate to help herself to anything in the fridge that appealed to her and that there were fresh towels in the bathroom.

Kate was pleased that her "go bag" was still in the trunk of her car. She retrieved it, took a long hot shower, got into some fresh clothes and tried to prepare herself for whatever was coming next. After the day she had yesterday, she was ready for just about anything.

Returning to the kitchen, Kate knew exactly what she wanted; coffee. After searching the kitchen pretty extensively, she found that there was none. Coffee was Kate's fuel and fuel was what she needed, so she grabbed her keys and phone and headed for the door and the nearest place where she could fill up.

The after dinner hour found the coffee shop buzzing with patrons. Kate took her place in line and simply enjoyed the sound of relaxed conversation and the smell of freshly brewed coffee. When she got to the register she ordered her favorite sugar free vanilla latte.

"And your name, please?" the young man at the register requested.

"My what?" Kate was startled.

"Your name? For the cup," he explained.

"Oh, sorry, Kate," she told him feeling foolish.

"Kate, you can pick your drink up at the end of the counter in just a couple of minutes," the cashier told her with a smile that said it happened all the time.

The shop had various types of coffee paraphernalia scattered throughout to lure the impulse buyer, and Kate perused the shelves while she waited listening for her name to be called. After a while, she realized that people who had been behind her in line were enjoying their caffeine while she was still waiting, so she returned to the counter.

"Excuse me," she interrupted the cashier from earlier, "I haven't received my coffee yet."

The cashier tried to be helpful, "Oh, I think your friend picked it up for you."

Kate made a confused face, "My friend? I'm here alone."

The cashier's facial expression didn't change and he sounded sure of himself, "He asked if it was your coffee before he took it."

"He?" Kate was really confused now.

The cashier strained to see over the line and various people milling around, "That's him over there in the corner; the one with the black ball cap and sunglasses."

Kate turned to see who had absconded with her coffee. Sure enough, there was a lone male with a black ball cap and dark glasses sitting with two coffees. He was drinking one and the other sat untouched in front of an empty chair.

Kate decided to get her coffee back. As she approached the stranger spoke, "Agent Beckett, join me."

Kate's guard was elevated, but she didn't feel threatened, "It seems you have the advantage. You have my name and my coffee." She continued to watch him cautiously, but her curiosity was peaked, "Have we met before?"

"I can assure you that we have not," he answered easily.

The man smiled and took off his glasses, "Please, have a seat, Kate."

The minute that he took of his sunglasses, Kate knew who she was facing, "You're the man in the sketch from the farmhouse. You're Castle's father."

He only nodded and gestured toward the empty chair, "Your coffee's getting cold."

Kate sat, but her eyes never left the man sitting across from her, "So what do I call you?"

"Jackson Hunt," he told her taking a drink from his cup.

"That sounds made up," Kate accused.

Hunt laughed, "That's what Richard said."

"Well, Mr. Hunt, I am assuming that you have something you want to say to me since you went to all of the trouble to steal my coffee," Kate continued to eye him carefully.

Hunt leaned forward, elbows on the table and his voice low, "Have you seen him?"

Kate shook her head, "No, but I do know that he is critical, but stable."

"Yah, I got that same canned crap when I called," Jackson sounded irritated.

"I would think that you would have the juice to get any information that you wanted," Kate observed.

Hunt sat back in his seat again, "Normally, yes, but I'm here off book."

Kate relaxed a little as they talked, "So this is strictly personal?"

Hunt looked somber, "I don't know how much he told you Kate, but I walked away from Richard and his mother for their safety; and I stayed away for that same reason. I was already in too deep with the agency when I met Martha; done too many things; made too many enemies. When I found out about Richard on a trip back stateside a year later, I knew that my life would endanger theirs, so as hard as it was, I stayed away. I stayed away, but I've always kept watch."

Kate let him talk, "As you know, my life came back to haunt Richard and my granddaughter anyway."

"And you did whatever it took to keep them safe," Kate filled in.

His gaze was ice, "Yes, I did."

Realization struck Kate, "You're not just here to see about your son."

Hunt was quiet then, "You're here for Tyson."

"I thought that might be a common goal, Agent."

Kate's eyes flashed, "If I have to give my last breath bringing that son of a bitch Tyson down, then so be it."

Hunt was impressed by her level of commitment to the task he had on his to do list, "Let's hope that won't be necessary."

She laughed gently and her eyes softened as she looked at him, "You remind me of him."

He relaxed too, "Oh, yeah?"

"You both have quite a way with words," she meant it as a compliment.

He took it that way, "Yes, he does have quite a mouth on him; learned that in Paris."

Kate actually laughed out loud, "That's Castle."

Jackson Hunt watched Kate through the filter of an intelligence asset, "I've been off grid for a while since the Paris thing. Things were a little hot for me. I understand that you moved to DC and joined the AG's task force. I was surprised that Rick didn't go with you."

She wondered if she was about to be interrogated, "That your decision or his?"

Kate's momentarily lightened spirit disappeared into a much darker one, "Castle stayed here because I told him that I needed to take the DC job on my own."

"It's my fault he's fighting for his life right now. I didn't have his back when Tyson came for him," Kate found admitting it this time was harder than all the others combined.

Hunt seemed to be weighing his words, or maybe he was just giving Kate a minute, "Okay, let's say that's true. But believe this, Kate, I've seen enough and _**done **_enough to know that it's _never_ that simple."

Oddly enough, Hunt's words made Kate feel a little better. He hadn't tried to tell her that she shouldn't feel responsible, but he had opened her eyes to seeing the bigger picture related to these events. She wasn't the only player on the board with blood on their hands.

"So what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to find the filth that shot my son, and the two of us are going to have a very personal private conversation," Hunts eyes were weirdly emotionless.

"The same kind of conversation you had with Roger Henson at the farmhouse?" Kate had shifted to her own interrogation mode as she remembered the condition of the kidnapper's tortured remains.

Hunts eyes narrowed and lit up with an emotion Kate wasn't quite sure she could identify, "No, not at all. What I had with Henson was just a friendly chat."

Kate didn't react externally, but her heart ratcheted up a few beats per minute as she was struck by the stark realization of just what Jackson Hunt was capable of.

Suddenly Hunt was smiling at her again, "But first, I need to see my son."

"I don't know how much help I am going to be there. I'm not on the visitor's list per your granddaughter's wishes."

"That shiny AG badge will get you on just about every list in the country," he winked at her.

"I know, but they don't want me there," Kate argued.

Hunt actually laughed out loud, "Agent Beckett, if I never went all the places I wasn't wanted, I'd never go anywhere."

Kate considered the message hidden behind Hunt's words.

"So what do you say we con our way into a highly secured ICU and check on our boy?"

Jackson Hunt was smiling broadly at her as her phone began to ring. Kate checked it out and saw that it was Stack.

"You got somewhere to be?" there was an unmistakable challenge in his voice.

Kate decisively declined Stack's call, "Actually, I do."


	16. Chapter 16

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 16

After spending some time coordinating their plan and dressing Jackson Hunt up like a task force agent, Kate and her new ally headed for the hospital. Having waited for visiting hours to end, they reduced the likelihood that they would run into anyone who might interfere with or object to their plans.

A key element of their op was to arrive after the night shift officers were in place. Knowing Gates the way she did, Kate was pretty certain there would be a man stationed at the main entrance to ICU and another right outside of Castle's room. Lanie had inadvertently helped Kate after all by letting her know that there would be personnel clearances as well as a strict visitor's list to deal with.

Once on the floor, Hunt's observation about Kate's AG badge was correct, "I'm Agent Beckett with the Attorney General's office and this is Agent Hunt, and we're here to evaluate the security arrangements for Richard Castle."

The officer immediately stood up, gave her badge a once over and swiped his ICU access card over the sensor, "Agent Beckett, there is another officer outside of Mr. Castle's door."

Kate kept up the ruse of being interested in the security measures, "Have there been any notable incidents this evening?"

He shook his head earnestly, "No, ma'am. It has actually been pretty quiet."

"Be sure that this door is not left unattended even for a moment," Kate said motioning Hunt through and then quickly following. Luckily for them, the officer never thought to ask for Hunt's badge.

"One down, one to go," Hunt whispered to Kate.

The nurse's station was busy. That actually worked in their favor allowing the two interlopers to make their way to Castle's unit without being questioned. It didn't take them long to find it. Kate had figured right when she surmised that Gates would choose the south east corner of the unit since its rooms had few windows and only one way in or out.

Kate had her badge out and used it to get the attention of the officer seated in the chair in front of Castle's door, "Agent Beckett, Attorney General's Office," she announced, "I need to see the personnel clearance sheets, approved visitor's list, and visitor's log for this patient."

The officer was young, another break, and easy to unbalance, "Here are the clearance sheets complete with photos and here is the approved visitors list. No one gets in without a photo ID that matches my list. The sign in log is right over here on the nurse's station."

Kate stared long and hard at him, "Well, go get it officer."

He looked unsure of what to do, "I…um..I'm not supposed to leave the door."

Hunt intervened, "You have two federal agents standing in front of it. I think it will be okay if you go and get the log."

He smiled nervously, "Oh, yeah, of course, I'll just go and get it."

The second the officer turned his back, Kate nodded and Hunt slipped soundlessly inside.

The room was dimly lit with the main sources of light being the multitude of machines hooked up to Castle. It took Hunt a moment for his eyes to grow accustomed as he approached the bed. He had seen lots of dead and dying men, but none of them had prepared him for the hail of grief that fell on him when one of them was his own son.

Hunt stood staring at him willing him to open his eyes, "Richard."

There was no response.

"I know that somewhere deep down you know I'm here, son, and I'm not going anywhere until this is over. I am going to find him and I am going to end him. There is no where he can run or hide where I won't unearth him."

Castle stirred weakly and moaned.

"Richard?"

Castle's eyes opened slightly.

Hunt touched his arm and bent in close to him, "Can you hear me?"

He moaned again, but his eyes stayed about halfway open, "Dad?"

Hunt smiled slightly, "Yeah, son, it's me."

"I can't believe you're here," he stumbled over his words in a way only the heavily medicated do.

"Of course, I'm here. You're my kid," he told him firmly as though there should have been no doubt.

"I got shot," Castle told him needlessly.

"I know, Richard," Hunt was being crushed by unfamiliar emotions.

"It sucks," Castle added managing a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"I know it does," he was speaking from the school of experience.

Castle started to cough and his monitors freaked out briefly. Hunt eyed the door and he could still see Kate working over the young officer and his lists.

"Dad?" he was struggling to talk.

"Rest - there will be time to talk later," Hunt encouraged.

Castle shook his head weakly, "No, not later; now."

Hunt saw him becoming upset, "Okay, now. What is it?"

Castle took in an obviously painful breath, "Kate."

"What about Kate?"

Castle's eyes closed and he seemed to be slipping back to where ever he had been.

"Richard?"

Castle jerked back to consciousness, "What?"

"What about, Kate?" Hunt pushed.

"He shot me to hurt her. Said it was her fault," Castle was having trouble breathing and talking at the same time.

"Crazy people don't need a reason to be crazy, Richard, they just need a target."

Castle managed to move his hand enough to grab Hunt's, "Keep her safe."

Hunt watched his son's furrowed and anxious face, "I will; I promise."

Castle relaxed and let his eyes close, "Keep her safe."

Hunt watched him slip quietly back into unconsciousness. He struggled to maintain his composure, but drew on his years of training to hold it together. Hunt knew just where to put all of this anger, fear, and pain; a compartment in his intelligence asset trained brain that he had set aside and labeled just for Jerry Tyson.

Kate knew that they couldn't maintain this ruse for much longer without getting caught, so she slipped into the room admonishing the officer to stay to his post.

Hunt met her halfway to the door, "He was briefly conscious. That's a good sign."

Kate looked past Hunt to Castle lying in the bed with a thousand and one tubes coming from his decimated body, "Did he say anything?"

Hunt considered a response appropriate to the moment, "He asked me to keep you safe." He didn't tell her the rest.

Kate's eyes grew wet and she nodded, "Give me a minute with him, please."

"Of course," and he slipped from the room as quietly as he had entered.

Kate's heart was racing and she was trembling as she moved to the bed. "Oh, Rick," her voice betrayed how deep the pain really went.

He was so pale and still that Kate visually checked the monitors. She then reached out to caress his face, "I know that you have to be tired of hearing these words from me Castle, but I am so sorry." Her tears ran unchecked down her cheeks. "I have made so many mistakes with you that I just can't count them all."

Castle twitched slightly and Kate took his hand, "The biggest mistake – the one that started this chain of dominoes falling - is the decision I made that day at the swings."

Kate began rubbing her thumb across the top of Castle's hand in the circular motion that they had used to communicate without words so many times before, "I was so unprepared for that question. I was trying to figure out what we were to each other, and then you asked me to marry you with no job strings attached. I know that my answer made you believe that I don't love you, Rick, but I need you to hear me..."

There was a double rap on the window signaling that time had run out. Kate bent over him and whispered in his ear still holding his hand, "Castle, you were right. I loved you from that very first day."

Kate stared for a few more seconds into his ruggedly handsome face wanting to kiss him just one more time, but she reminded herself how far out of bounds she already was just being there and she settled for a handshake.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

When Castle opened his eyes the next time, the first person he saw was his daughter. She was standing by the window talking with Martha and had not noticed that he was conscious. "Hey, you two talking about me behind my back again?" he voice was weak, but still managed to convey his signature wit.

Alexis was beside him instantly, "Dad! You're awake. Gram, he's awake!"

Martha had come around to the other side of the bed and grabbed his hand, "Richard, my darling, you had us so scared." Her voice was quivering, but she managed to hold back the tears.

Seeing his mother made Castle remember his dream, "Mother, I dreamed that my dad came."

Martha wondered if her son was delirious, "What are you talking about, sweetheart?"

"Jackson Hunt? My grandfather?" Alexis was startled.

"I was dreaming all night long like I do when I fall asleep in my office writing," his voice trailed off.

"Dad, you need to rest. You can tell us about it later," Alexis tried to encourage him.

"Maybe I should go and get the doctor," Martha was concerned.

Castle held on tighter to her hand, "No, Mother, listen to me."

Alexis and Martha exchanged anxious looks, "Okay, Dad, tell us about your dream."

Castle took a deep excruciating breath before he went on, "It was kind of confusing because the people kept changing in the dream; Beckett and my dad."

Alexis' face twisted unhappily, "Beckett hasn't been here."

"My dream; they were in my dream. He said he was going to put Tyson in the ground," he shared what he could remember of his dad's role in the dream, but what he remembered about Beckett, he kept to himself.

The door to the room opened and a series of white coats came in asking for the room, "We need to examine him now that he is conscious. If you will wait outside, we will give you a complete update in just a few minutes."

"Of course, doctor," Martha answered. She squeezed her son's hand once more and followed Alexis out the door.

They had only been waiting a couple of minutes when Espo and Ryan came through the main unit doors. Both hurried over fearing the worst when they saw Alexis and Martha waiting outside the room, "Hey, what's up?"

Alexis ran to them both and threw her arms around them, "He's awake and talking. The doctors are checking him out now."

Espo let out a loud, "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" Ryan and Espo then followed immediately with a chest bump and intricate fist bump routine. They didn't even care when the nurses threw them a few dirty looks.

Almost simultaneously to the dirty looks and celebrations by Kevin and Espo, Lanie walked in, "I see smiles all around. Is it good news for our boy?"

Alexis' huge smile said it all, "He's awake and talking."

Lanie let out the breath she was holding, "What a relief. That is the best news we could get right now."

"He wasn't making a whole lot of sense, but he was definitely talking," Martha added almost as an afterthought.

Lanie took note, "What do mean he wasn't making sense?"

Martha thought for a moment, "He was carrying on about dreams and how Beckett showed up and his father too."

Alexis shot her grandmother a warning look. They weren't supposed to talk about her grandfather. "With all the drugs he's been on, I'm surprised he didn't meet Bigfoot," Alexis said trying to cover.

"Oooh, he would have liked that," Javi joked.

"I know, right? Bigfoot is so up Castle's alley," Ryan added on.

Lanie laughed, but she had been momentarily worried when Martha said that Castle had dreamed that Beckett was there. She knew how badly Kate had wanted to see Castle and what lengths she would probably go through to make that happen. Since she knew that Castle had never even met his father, Lanie decided that Alexis was probably right and the dreams were caused by the combination of medications he was on.

Each of them then found a spot along the windows where they could watch the doctors finishing up their examination. It was only then that Alexis allowed herself to wonder if it really had all been a dream. Was her grandfather here? She had seen firsthand what he did to people who threatened his family. And she decided that she hoped it hadn't been a dream, Beckett or no, if her grandfather was here, Jerry Tyson better watch his back.


	17. Chapter 17

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 17

Kate literally dragged herself through the doors of the 12th precinct. After their clandestine visit with Castle, she and Hunt had spent the last hours going over every shred of information they had on 3XK. Kate had even used her security clearance to gain access to what the task force had managed to put together.

Hunt's words played over in her head as the elevator doors opened and she stepped into the squad room prepared for whatever Stack had for her, "Somewhere in all of this is the key to finding Tyson. You need to make a decision about that moment before it arrives. It's going to go down one way and one way only; you need to determine if it's a ride you want to take."

It being Monday morning, the station was running at full capacity. Kate felt multiple sets of eyes on her as she headed toward the group gathered in front of the murder board. Stack, Gates, Espo, and Ryan fell silent. Kate met Stack's eyes and they were unreadable but so were hers, "Now that we're all here, Captain Gates and I are going to share with you the plan we have devised to keep this investigation moving forward."

Gates stepped in, "In my interview with Mr. Castle yesterday, we received some disturbing information. It would seem that 3XK sees all of this as an intricate game with very specific players. He made it clear that certain rules must be followed or there will be consequences in the form of more murders."

Javi and Kevin exchanged guarded glances with Kate, "Players, sir?"

Stack took his turn, "Tyson wants the game to continue with those who started it: Beckett and Castle, obviously, you two detectives, Captain Gates, the ME, and Castle's mother and daughter."

"Well, that's specific. It's like a dinner party list," Kevin reflected.

"That's exactly what this is to Tyson. He is a loner who in his mind has bonded in some twisted way with each of you. To him there is a relationship and he felt the current situation," Stack looked directly at Kate, "threatened that and everything he has done up to this point has been with the singular goal of putting the game back the way it was."

Kevin spoke next, "So when he knocked me out and took my gun, we became friends in his mind?"

Stack shook his head, "Not friends exactly, Ryan. You became someone that he had a continuing relationship with since for some reason he let you live. It was the same with Castle."

"Well that's jacked up," Espo reacted. "Why does he include me? We haven't really had our special moment yet."

"You're part of the Beckett and Castle allure for him. You've worked the case from the beginning."

Gates took the briefing in a new direction, "We also learned that specific threats were made toward Detective Allison McMurphy from the 9th."

Kate's attention reached new heights, "What kind of threats?"

"Somehow he was aware that she was helping with the case. He told Castle that she was close enough to his _**type**_ to count if she interfered in the investigation in any way again," Gates explained. "In my opinion, that's about as direct a threat as you can make."

When it appeared that Gates was going to leave part of the story out, Stack finished it while looking squarely at Kate, "He was also aware of the intimate relationship between Castle and the detective which he actually gave Castle his blessing to continue as long as she doesn't touch the case."

Kate's already bruised heart took another hit. She had figured that Castle and the Allison were sleeping together, but knowing it for sure made it far worse. She looked at Ryan and Espo and seeing the pain in her eyes, they both quickly looked away.

Espo spoke to break the tension, "So what's our play?"

Gates motioned toward her office, "Let's step inside to continue this."

Once in Gate's office with the door closed, Stack took over once again, "Beckett is going to resign from the AG task force and Captain Gates is going to take her back at the 12th in her old capacity. At least that is what we want everyone, including Tyson, to believe."

Espo and Ryan exchanged uncertain looks. Kevin put his hands in his pockets and stared at the floor while Espo crossed his arms over his chest. Kate looked away; she knew what their body language was saying.

"For this to work, only those in this room and Mr. Castle will know that Kate's resignation is bogus," Gates emphasized the importance of this key element. "We don't know how Tyson gets his information, but he seems to know everything that is going on around here almost as soon as it happens. Agent Stack and his remaining agents are going to pull out of the 12th and set up shop at an undisclosed location."

Stack eyed Beckett, "So, what I need you to do now, Agent is make a bit of a show out of turning in your badge and gun."

Kate looked at the faces in the room as they watched her retrieve her badge and gun offering them to Stack, "Agent Stack, I resign from the AG's task force; effective immediately." And in only a matter of minutes, Detective Kate Beckett was back.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Castle's hospital room had been a busy place since he had regained consciousness. When he wasn't being poked, prodded and stuck with needles by nurses; he was answering questions about Tyson's attempt on his life.

What he really wanted was some time alone with his thoughts. As a writer, he usually had plenty of that. As the target of a serial killer he had none. So much had happened and his thoughts were reeling and jumbled. He needed to process everything that had happened; including Beckett being back in town; maybe especially Beckett being back in town.

Just then the door to his room opened again, "Hey there, Rick. It's really good to see you. "

Castle smiled warmly and joked, "It's really good to be seen alive."

Allie crossed the room to the bed, "You had us pretty worried there."

"Well, if I'm going to get shot, I want it to be as dramatic as a shooting in one of my books," he continued to joke and he wished he would stop.

She took his hand, "I was really scared. It didn't look good those first hours."

Castle's face softened and he took her hand in both of his, "I'm going to be fine."

"I kind of waited a little bit to come and see you. I knew that your family would need to be close by for at least a bit," she blinked several times to try and stop a tear.

"That was very thoughtful, Mac, thank you, but are you sure it wasn't really because of my mother and Alexis? Those two can fill up a room if you know what I mean," he silently cursed himself for going back to the jokes.

What the hell was wrong with him? Why was he acting this way; hiding behind stupid one liners?

Allie didn't seem to mind and she actually laughed but quickly sobered, "Rick, did Tyson say why he did this?"

Castle's change in mood met hers, "He said that it was all a game and that we had changed the game and he wanted things back the way they were."

Mac's browed furrowed, "Meaning what exactly?"

Castle took a deep breath that turned out to be quite painful, "The bottom line is that he did all of this to get Beckett back here."

The statement had the effect that Castle had known it would, but there was no way that he was going to lie to her. When the two of them started dating, Castle had been painfully honest about where he was emotionally. Allie knew all about his past with Kate and the depth of his feelings for her. She knew about the proposal and Kate's decision to leave him for the job in DC. Allie was a smart woman; she knew a love like that didn't just fade away.

It was Allie's turn to take a deep breath, "And he succeeded."

Castle nodded.

"How do you feel about her being back?" Allie was never afraid to ask the hard questions. She faced things head on. It was one of the things about her that had attracted Castle to her in the first place.

Castle hesitated not out of guile, but because he sincerely didn't know, "I haven't even gotten there yet. So much has happened and so many people have been coming at me that I haven't even processed what it means. I'm not going to lie, her showing up at the precinct unannounced like that threw me for a hell of a loop."

Allie could see the honesty in his face and hear it in his words, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push."

"Don't be. You have every right to ask," Castle reassured her.

The two fell silent for minute and then, "Allie, Tyson mentioned you that night."

Her face registered shock, "Me? How does he even know about me?"

"Because you're connected to me," Castle explained. "He thinks that we have some kind of relationship that gives him unrestricted access to my life."

Though she had been surprised, she wasn't shaken, "What did he say?"

Castles voice was grave, "He said that if you didn't stay away from this case he'll kill you."

That seemed to shake her, "Wow, that's pretty direct."

"But on the bright side, he doesn't have a problem with us dating," Castle defaulted to his humor reflex again.

Allie's emotions were so jumbled up that she actually laughed, "Well, I never thought I would be grateful that a serial killer has given his blessings to my relationship with my boyfriend."

Castle waited to see what she would say next, "Then, I guess that means that you want me to stay away from the investigation?"

"You have to. I've already put you in danger by letting you anywhere near it. Tyson is a madman with no conscience. He wouldn't hesitate to hurt you to make his point," Castle had to make her see that this was the only way.

He watched her carefully as she thought his words through, "Okay, Rick, I'll stay away from the case."

Relief washed over his face in such a way that Allie leaned over and kissed him deeply.

"You two need to get a room," Esposito called from the doorway.

"Wait...um…aren't they in a room," Ryan pointed out looking at his partner oddly.

Esposito glared at him, "It's a saying, bro, a saying."

Castle and Allie laughed at them, "On that note, I have to get to work." Allie gave Castle another quick kiss. "We'll finish that other conversation after you have had some time to think about it."

Then it was just the boys, "What was that about?" Espo never had trouble poking his nose in Castle's personal business.

Kevin jumped on the bandwagon, "Yah, that was cryptic, Castle."

"Crip who?" Espo gave Ryan a look.

Castle interrupted their banter, "It was nothing. We were just talking through the weekend's events. I just told her that she had to stay away from the Tyson case."

Kevin piped up, "How'd she take it?"

"She agreed. I'm not sure if she was covering anything, but she seemed okay with it," Castle told them.

The guys fell silent and Castle knew something was up, "So what's on your mind?"

"You tell him," Kevin told Espo.

"You tell him," Espo argued back.

"Roshambo?" Castle suggested.

Without further conversation, the two played three rounds. Kevin lost and Espo crowed, "Still the champ! Remind me to take a victory lap."

Kevin rolled his eyes, "Gates and Stack came up with a plan to deal with Tyson's demands."

Kevin stopped and looked uncomfortably at Javi, "Dang bro, you're such a girl. Beckett has fake resigned from being a FEDbot and she is back with the 12th. The rest of the FEDs have left the precinct and are holed up somewhere on the DL. No one knows but us."

Castle considered the implications, "So as far as the rest of NYPD knows, Beckett really quit the AG's task force and is back for good?"

"Yep, that's the play," Kevin had no trouble talking now and Espo glared at him.

"There's more, bro. Man up," Espo was talking to Ryan.

"Fine. Beckett is not just back at the 12th. She is back with us."

It didn't take Castle any time to get the implications of that one, "Back with us, meaning you two?"

Espo shook his head, "Meaning the three of us."

Kevin interjected, "When you're up to it."

"Yeah, when you're up to it," Espo parroted.

Castle was saved from trying to put a reaction together when a nurse came in ready to change the dressing on his wounds, "Detectives, I am afraid you are going to have to give us a few minutes."

The boys began moving toward the door and Espo called back to him, "It's good to see you with your eyes open."

"Be right back, Mr. Castle, I forgot my tape," the nurse left the room briefly.

"Ryan, can you hang here a minute?" Castle asked him before he could get out the door.

"Sure, what's up?" he asked moving to stand by the bed.

"I heard what you did for me at the loft, Kevin. They say I wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for you," Castle's voice was pure emotion.

Kevin made eye contact, "You're my brother and partner, Castle; just like Javi and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you guys. Just do me a favor and try not to get shot again."

The nurse returned and the two men exchanged a gentle fist bump, "Later, man."

"You are quite the popular guy," the nurse said referencing the number of people who had been in and out of his room.

"I'm lucky," Castle said laying back and allowing her to finish taping up his chest.

After the nurse was gone, Castle finally had a lull in the room. Exhaustion crept over him, but there were so many thoughts battling for his attention that he didn't think sleep would be able to take him. Trying to stem the flow, he focused on the one to which he would be expected to provide a response. How did he feel about Beckett being back in town?

The information from the boys had complicated that question even further. Not only was Kate back in town for who knew how long, she was back at the 12th and the team was back together for all practical purposes.

Castle started to drift and he realized in his current state of exhaustion, no clear answer was going to emerge. The light headedness of imminent sleep enveloped him and his mind raced back to his dream from the night before. He had been so glad to see his father and hear his reassuring words. And then Kate had suddenly appeared beside him telling him how sorry she was for leaving and that she loved him. The part that left a smile on his soon to be sleeping face was when the dream Kate had whispered in his ear - "Castle, you were right, I loved you from the first day we met." And the best part was that she had smelled of cherries... Castle's eyes flew open and he was suddenly very awake.


	18. Chapter 18

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 18

Being back at the precinct had both perks and detractions for Kate. The familiarity of the surroundings and knowing exactly how to do her job was great; those things were a part of her DNA. Co-workers who were not part of her team had been welcoming and the coffee was amazing. Even her old chair and desk felt right.

What was tough was the tension with the boys; it kept them all on edge. Everyone seemed to have drawn lines in the sand, but no one knew exactly where the lines were or what they were suppose to mean. Kate understood the divided loyalties. Castle had been here and she hadn't. Castle had held everything together when she left and they loved him for it. Kate loved him for it.

The subtle things were the hardest to take. If they would just yell at her and tell her exactly how they felt, she could deal with it. Instead they would do things like nodding instead of answering when she gave them a task or when she went into the break room to get some coffee; they would stop talking and leave as soon as possible. Worst of all, when they had phone calls, they left the room to take them.

Kate decided to stop feeling sorry for herself and focus on the work. She needed to figure out a way to get to Tyson. The only avenue open to her seemed to be finding out as much as she could about the subway train girl. The murder board hadn't changed much since they had gone over it that first day. She glanced at Espo and Ryan's desks. They were late again. She figured they were visiting Castle. She couldn't help wishing she could do the same.

As much as she tried to focus, Kate's mind wandered from the murder. She wondered where Jackson Hunt was. What was he doing? Did he have a line on Tyson? It had been several days since she had heard from him. In fact the only contact he had made since the hospital visit was the burner cell that had turned up on the front seat of Kate's car the day before.

The elevator door dinged and out stepped Ryan and Esposito. She envied them their easy camaraderie and her mind considered how she would make amends to them. It would require a conversation; that she knew, but something else was also true – right now neither one of them seemed ready to hear anything from her.

They entered the squad area and greeted her, "Morning, Beckett," and continued to their desks.

As she greeted them back, her cell phone rang. Castle's smiling face came up on the screen. Kate's heart skipped three beats before she could answer, "Beckett."

"It's me. We need to talk." Castle was all seriousness.

"Yes, we do," Kate agreed immediately.

Kate called to the boys, "I have to go."

They both looked up, but neither said anything; only nodded that they had heard.

"Ouch," Kate whispered to herself as she walked toward the elevator.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

When Kate walked into Castle's hospital room he was standing at the window wearing his robe. She was pleased to see that he had far fewer tubes and lines running to and from his body than the last time she saw him. He had his back to her, so she couldn't see his face, but he seemed to be somewhere else because he hadn't heard her enter the room.

"Castle," she called softly to him.

He waited a second for the sound of Kate saying his name to have the same effect on him that it used to; it crushed him when it did. Castle turned to look at her. She still took his breath away.

Kate searched his face. His emotions were all over the place and impossible to read, "How are you? I've been so worried. I thought I'd lost you," She moved closer to him but stopped a couple of feet away.

"You can't lose something you discarded," he sounded so distant.

"Castle," she said stepping toward him.

He backed away, "Don't. Please."

"I'm sorry," Kate tried to keep her visible reactions to a minimum. In the five years she had known him, she had never seen him like this.

"I had you come here to ask you something I couldn't ask on the phone," he sounded so sad and it broke her heart. He looked out the window, she guessed so he didn't have to look at her.

"Anything," she promised him.

"The night I was shot, I know you were here. Was my father here with you?" his voice cracked slightly.

"Yes," she answered softly.

"Is he still here? Are you working with him?" he was desperate to know; desperate enough to have asked her here.

"Yes, he's here somewhere. I'm not sure exactly where. I haven't seen him in a few days," Kate told him. "No one knows he's here, but us. He's here off book."

"He's hunting for Tyson," it was a statement not a question.

"Yes," Kate answered anyway.

"He's going to find him and kill him," another statement.

Kate knew the truth in what Castle was saying. His beliefs weren't wrong. There was nothing to dispute. "He's going to protect his son."

"Is he going to come back before he disappears again?"

"I don't know," Kate wanted desperately to put her arms around him and hold him. "Do you remember everything from the night you were shot?"

Castle looked at her finally. His face looked tortured and his voice was like nothing she had ever heard, "When a life altering event occurs; people remember."

"Castle, please, don't do this," Kate struggled to keep from reaching for him.

"Don't do what, Kate? There's nothing left for me to do. It's all been done," Castle began to have doubts about having called her.

"Don't shut me out. I made a mistake," Kate pleaded with him.

Castle's face contorted in pain, "A mistake. That's what you want to reduce it to? A mistake?" Castle stepped away from her. Kate's proximity was searing his flesh and he had to remove himself from the source of the heat. "Forgetting to pick up the dry cleaning is a mistake," he spat in a strangely emotional voice. "Forgetting an anniversary or a lunch date is a mistake. Saying something hurtful during an argument is a mistake..." his voiced trailed away as he had become entangled in emotions he wasn't prepared to wrestle.

"Please try and understand, I was afraid," she managed to say.

"You were afraid? I sat in that park denying the fact that you had just gone behind my back and lied to me. You got on a plane and flew to another city for a job interview without a word to me. You didn't even tell me after the fact; I found your damn boarding pass. I was such a fool that I was willing to let something that was inexcusable be okay, because I wanted you so desperately and couldn't bear the thought of losing you. God, what does that say about me?"

"I had never been in so deep with someone before," Kate was crying, "and I didn't know how to handle it. I felt like I was out on a ledge." It was the most honest thing she had ever said to him.

"I was right there with you. Just like that day in Fosse's apartment. I would have willingly died trying to save you," Castle was trembling. "There was no way I was going to leave you alone standing on that bomb. It wasn't even an option for me."

Seeing him like this was ripping Kate apart, "Rick, I love you. I'll be in love with you...Always."

"That's not fair," his whisper was barely audible.

"How many times have you made that promise to me, Rick? Where is it now?," Kate was fighting against a rising tide.

He shook his head, "It took everything I had in me to save myself. I won't be able to do it again. I can't get lost to you, in you, in us, just to have it ripped away again the next time you decide to run and you and I both know that you will. "

Kate couldn't stop herself. She went to him and put her arms around him, "There won't be a next time. I know what I want. I want you. I want us."

He physically removed her arms and turned away, "This all sounds vaguely familiar; a rainy night, about a year ago. And you're right, Kate, there won't be a next time because I won't let there be."

Kate watched Rick wade through painful memories of their breakup knowing that they were acting as massive barriers between the two of them, "Castle, I was completely selfish. I wasn't thinking of us; I was thinking of me and how scared I was. I didn't know how to be "us."

Castle was literally reeling. Kate was in his peripheral view. He could feel her longing for him through his anger and that held him in silent twisted fascination. He didn't even have to see her to know it was there. The physical connection between the two of them was somehow stronger than it had ever been. The emotions elicited were torrential, and he struggled for a way to stay above the flood and not drown in them, "And somehow you do now?"

Kate's face took on an innocence that Castle almost could not resist, "No, but at least now I know what the problem is. I just need to learn how to truly be your partner in every way. I need to share what I'm thinking and feeling with you when it happens, not afterwards or when I'm backed into a corner. I need to let you see me vulnerable and trust that I'm safe."

Castle finally turned back to find Kate's eyes, "I can't. I'm done. I'm trying to move on with my life."

Kate's jealousy reared itself, "Move on with your new girlfriend Detective Allie who happens to look just like me. Really, Castle? Is that your plan for getting past what we had together?"

"I asked you to marry me, Kate. I never thought I would ever want that role again, but with you, it was all l wanted. I wanted to be your husband, and I wanted you for my wife more than I've ever wanted anything. I wanted to be the man to give you a child; our child. I wanted to grow old with you. It was right there in front of me and I just couldn't reach it because you kept kicking my feet out from under me every time I tried," Castle had met her jealousy with the kind of pain born of rejection.

Kate buckled emotionally as she heard his declaration realizing that he had a plan for their future all along and that her fears about where they were going were all for nothing, "What have I done?"

"You made a choice and it wasn't me or us and now we both have to live with it," the resignation in Castle's voice vibrated through her.

Kate's emotions were as badly frayed as Castles, "So we never talk again? Never see each other? What does this make us?"

"Over, Kate. It makes us over," Castle had never uttered harder words, and they left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"What about Tyson? Working at the precinct together?" Kate was grasping desperately for some shred of hope.

"We'll do what we have to until Jerry Tyson is rotting in a deep dark hole somewhere, and then you will go back to your life in DC and I'll stay here in New York with mine."

Castle was one huge blown circuit. Kate was standing in front of him saying everything he had ever wanted to hear from her. She was the most beautiful, driven, and focused woman he had ever known. Kate was ignited by challenge, ambition, and talent as powerful as his own. The difference between them was that she let those traits drive every decision and every relationship she ever allowed herself to be in. Kate knew instantly that Lanie had been right. She had at least acted as though her ideas and desires were more important than those of her friends and her lover. She realized that her actions had given them no reason to believe otherwise. This was how she broke those who loved her.

"Kate, I will always love you. Always. That's what people do with the love of their life." Castle's eyes clouded making the gamut of emotions that he was feeling too convoluted for Kate to decipher, "But sometimes the road back is just too dark and the only choice is to go toward the light in the distance and try to start over. That's all I'm trying to do. You should do the same."


	19. Chapter 19

_**Heartfelt thanks to the reviewers of this story. You are the reason I am able to update so quickly. Your investment in the story drives me to get the next chapter to you as soon as I can. **_

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 19

Jackson Hunt had spent the last few days getting to know his prey. He went everywhere that he could determine Tyson had been and met with those Hunt identified as having been instrumental to 3XK pulling off his various plans. Some poor souls had unwittingly been of assistance; while others had been motivated either by greed or a twisted slant their own cancerous minds had constructed to meet their deviant cravings. The latter found themselves on the receiving end of retribution from a man equally as ruthless, but far more motivated than Jerry Tyson. These complicit diseased individuals found themselves, one way or another, of no further use to anyone.

Of particular interest to Hunt were accomplices that had been tracked to DC since that area was a new hunting ground for 3XK. This meant the leads would be fresh and his partners in crime would likely have viable ways to make contact with Tyson that Hunt could use to track him to whatever hole was hiding him.

He was currently staking out a lead that appeared promising; a black hat hacker who went by the handle OffKilter. Hunt had gotten a line on him after having a _**conversation**_ with one of the darker souls that he had crossed paths with while looking for Tyson. This source seemed sure, after some encouragement, that Kilter and Tyson had more than a passing acquaintance and had worked together on multiple occasions.

Kilter was not a creature of habit; a trait that was often a clue that something wasn't right with a target in Hunt's world. For most people, routines represent security, that's why people like them – at least the normal ones do. This target was definitely not of the normal variety.

Kilter's routines were never the same. Hunt found that he spent a part of each day at various internet cafes around the city. There was no favorite company chain or area of the city that Hunt had been able to identify nor was there a pattern to the order he visited the cafes. He seemed to have somehow randomized his work locations. Hunt wouldn't have been surprised if he was using a random location generator that he had devised himself. Kilter was smart, but Hunt was smarter and had found him by waiting for Kilter to show up at one cafe his source had told him had been a meeting place for the two in the past.

The hacker had been inside the café for only a few hours, so Hunt knew that he would probably be a while. That was okay with him. It gave him time to think. The most invasive thoughts were those related to his son. Richard had seemed so fragile when he had seen him in the hospital; he had been pale and still and vulnerable. Hunt had known the two guards in ICU were no match for Tyson after how easily he and Kate had gained access to the room, so he had spent the rest of that night patrolling the corridors, stairwells and parking garages looking for any sign that something was amiss. Hunt couldn't stay with him as a normal father would, but he could keep him safe better than any other.

And then there was Kate Beckett. Even being an absent dad, Hunt knew Richard was in love with the detective. In Paris it had been in his voice when he spoke too and of her. And now his only thought had been of her upon regaining consciousness after a nearly successful attempt on his own life. Her safety had been on his mind; not his own or anyone else's for that matter. All of Hunts years of observing people and their behavior had taught him many things about the human condition and one of those was that love was the perfect storm for unpredictability and volatility; especially a love like he believed Kate and Rick's to be. But Hunt was under no illusions; something had happened that left an emotional chasm between them. Kate reeked of desperation and he knew that emotions that raw could be related to only one thing; her relationship with his son.

Finally, there was some movement on the stakeout forcing Hunt to put aside his personal thoughts. OffKilter was exiting the internet café. He pulled his olive colored hoodie up over his dark ill-kempt hair and surveyed the area before he committed to a direction and took off walking.

Hunt had to be careful. Surveillance on foot could be tricky particularly when your target was obviously paranoid about being followed. Kilter employed several different tactics to ensure that he was not being followed. He doubled back, took several quick turns in a row and stopped intermittently to check his surroundings. Hunt was not impressed, but amused. This punk hacker seemed to think he was Jason Bourne.

After about thirty minutes of playing spy, Kilter slipped into an alley between two dilapidated buildings that appeared from the outside to be abandoned. He walked up to the door with a numeric keypad on it, quickly punched in a five digit code and was gone from sight. With a simple check of the electric meter, Hunt knew that a building that was sucking wattage like this one, was not only inhabited, it was being used for nefarious deeds that were right in Hunt's wheel house. All he needed to determine now was the best way inside.

The key pad protected door was the most obvious route. Hunt's decryption key would work, but it could take up to a minute leaving him out in the open. A more detailed assessment of the entrance's possibilities revealed to Hunt that there was a micro cam covering the door with the key pad. He would either need to take out the camera or find another way in.

Hunt's next stop was the roof. Historically, paranoid people tended to pay a lot of attention to doors and windows on the ground level, but often neglected obscure windows and utility doors on the top floors and roof. As luck would have it, whoever was running the show at that particular building was one of those paranoids.

Hunt slipped easily into the structure without needing any of his spy toys. A door on the roof had been left propped open and he silently thanked the chain smokers who had made it possible.

Once inside, he was hit with a wave of electric heat. He knew that feeling and smell. There were super computers running in this place; lots of them.

Hunt had a pretty solid feeling that he knew what this place was, but he had to be sure. He also needed to find his little friend OffKilter. They hadn't had a chance to chat yet. As he slipped down the stairs and peered into the wide open warehouse like space, he had his answer.

There were at least twenty-five computer hacking station setups throughout the room. This was a black hat operation; only destructive things happened here. The super computers were running at capacity with users that knew their shit. Each of them was in their own world plugged in attempting some master hack, crashing a system, breaking into secure servers or creating the next big virus. Each of the hackers wore headphones that Hunt knew were cranked up to maximum. The only way he was going to get caught was if someone saw him.

Hunt scanned the room for OffKilter. He found him easily enough, but he was all the way across the room. There was no way that he was going to be able to get to him here. Hunt would have to go to his alternative scenario. He slipped out of the building the same way he got in and immediately retrieved his non-descript white van. He returned to the alley to wait for the hacker. Little did Kilter know, he had an important meeting that Hunt was going to make sure he didn't miss.

While waiting for his appointment to arrive, Hunt used his burner cell to text a friend who knew a friend who worked with the FBI's internet terrorism unit. Sometime tomorrow, the building really would be what it looked like from the outside; abandoned.

It wasn't long before Hunt's target exited the building. He had guessed that Kilter would not leave the alley the way he came in – surveillance 101. Sure enough, he moved down the alley where Hunt was lying in wait in the completely darkened vehicle. When Kilter walked by the sliding side door, it took less than three seconds for the door to open, swallow up the target and slide shut.

Hunt subdued and bound his hands and feet with zip ties and duct taped his mouth shut. After those tasks were complete, he stopped struggling and only then did Hunt switch on a flashlight. "Hello, Mr. Kilter or should I call you Off?" he asked him ripping his hoodie from his head.

Very young terrified eyes stared at Hunt. It was only then that he realized that OffKilter the master black hat hacker was just a kid.

"Damn, kid, how old are you?" Hunt asked ripping the duct tape from his mouth. This really changed how things had to go.

"Sixteen, sir," he answered quickly.

Hunt shook his head to himself, but the kid seemed to think that was a bad sign and began to beg, "Please, let me go. I've got money. I can pay you."

"Shut-up kid," Hunt told him as he quickly planned a new approach. Hunt didn't have many rules, many lines he wouldn't cross, but this was one of them; no kids. He decided if he couldn't torture the information he needed out of him, which was always the fastest and led to the most accurate information, he would scare it out of him."

"Wha…What do you want?" Kilter asked finally.

"What the hell kind of freakin' name is OffKilter?" Hunt didn't really want to know; he could care less, but he needed to get the kid talking.

"It's my handle," he explained.

"You're what?" Hunt feigned ignorance.

"My online identity," he began to calm down a little which had been Hunt's plan all along.

"Look, kid, I need to ask you some questions. And it is going to be very important that you answer them with complete and total honesty," Hunts tone was almost friendly.

"Questions about what?"

"They're questions about a "who" actually," Hunt informed him keeping the same soothing tone.

"Look, man, I don't really deal in information about the people I work with, ya know?" he sounded much braver than Hunt knew he was feeling.

"You don't even know who I want information about yet?"

"Okay, then. Who?"

Hunt waited a beat, moved in close to the kids face, "I know him by Jerry Tyson and 3XK."

The blood drained from Kilter's face, "You are freakin' crazy. You don't know what you're asking. I ain't sayin' nothin' about that dude, man."

Hunt laughed, "At least you're smart enough to be afraid of him."

"You can beat me up or whatever," he added.

Hunt could see that his fear was quite real, "Do you think Tyson is your friend? Your buddy? Someone who has your back?"

He turned his eyes from Hunt, "What I think ain't any of your business, cop," he spat at Hunt.

Hunt laughed again and that unnerved Kilter even more, "I'm no cop, kid. You'd be a lot better off if I was."

"Let me show you what being 3XK's friend gets you," Hunt tossed multiple pictures of a girl barb wired to the ceiling, a mangled body on a subway train track, and the faces of the three DC strangling victims.

The photos had the desired effect, "What the hell is that?"

"That my little hacker friend is Tessa. She thought she was Tyson's girlfriend; that is until he killed her and hung her up like a barbed wire piñata."

Kilter tried to physically move away from the photos, "That's sick. I don't want any part of that."

Hunt moved in for the strike, "I need to find him before he does this again. You need me to find him before he does this to you."

The kid's face reflected how horrified he was, "Why would he do that to me? I help him whenever he asks."

"What kind of help?" Hunt demanded.

The kid was startled into answering, "Computer stuff mostly. I hack anything with audio or video, traffic cams, phones. I even hi-jacked a New York Police Department video surveillance system a few months back."

"How do I find him?" Hunt's voice was menacing.

Fear was back in the kid's face, "You don't find him. He finds you."

Hunt didn't believe he was getting the entire story, "You have to have some way that you communicate with him. A way you can get a message to him."

The kid glanced back at the photos as if making a decision, "I know his hacker handle and there's this site I know he lurks on."

Hunt backed off a little hoping the kid would come through without having to scare him anymore, "Well?"

He breathed deeply, "He goes by LifeT8KR."

"Write the website down," Hunt ordered cutting the kid's hands loose.

OffKilter wrote it down and then asked, "Are you going to let me go?"

"Yep," Hunt said cutting the zip ties from his ankles.

"Aren't you afraid that I'm going to tell him that you're looking for him?" the kid was puzzled.

"Nope," Hunt assured him.

The kid didn't say anything else, but his eyes held a thousand questions.

"Look, kid, I know that you are all anti-authority and screw the establishment and all that shit, but you need to listen to me," Hunt's voice was low and demanding.

The kid nodded.

"You need to get out of this van, go home, pack up your stuff and get as far away from here as you possibly can. Forget Tyson, forget me, forget this hacking crap and find yourself a life that isn't going to have you end up in black plastic garbage bags at the city landfill. If you stay here; if you contact Tyson, it won't be long before I'll have a picture of you in my pile just like Tessa's. Eventually, he will be done with you and he will kill you too. That's who he is."

Hunt slid back the van door and nodded for the kid to take off. In just seconds he was out of site; in only a few more, so was Hunt.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Kate had been unable to return directly to the precinct following her conversation with Castle. Every word he said played in an endless loop in her head and she couldn't seem to turn it off. Kate desperately needed a place to think and she went there without consciously choosing it; she went to their swings.

As she sat in one and stared at the empty one beside her, she saw Castle on his knees asking her to marry him. That single shared moment in time had been a lynchpin moment in their relationship. The decision that set everything that had happened in the last four months in motion.

Now here she was again; another lynchpin decision. Castle had asked her to let him move on and for her to do the same. The consequences of the last choice had been devastating to both of them. The outcome of this one would be the difference between fighting to get her life and the people she loved back and running away one more time.

Painfully, Kate had to admit that Castle's intimate relationship with Allison McMurphy was evidence that he really wanted to move on from her. The way he had become a the leader at the precinct with Espo, Ryan and even Lanie was more evidence that he wasn't the same man he was when she walked away and that his life was moving forward without her. And finally, the way he was able to hold firm to his resolve that it was over between them no matter what Kate said to him was evidence that Castle was determined to leave their relationship in the past.

Kate didn't know what else to do, so she just let go of her grip on her thoughts and emotions. As soon as she did she heard Castle's voice, "The answer is in the story…the story always matters…that's why we make such a great team…you find the evidence…the evidence helps me build a story…and the story points us to the solution."

Kate stood up suddenly, "Our story. I have to give him the evidence he needs so he can rebuild our story." She knew then that she couldn't walk away; that moving on was not an option – would never be an option. And that if what he needed was for her to fight for him, then that was exactly what she was going to do.


	20. Chapter 20

_**Yes, I am aware that Kate has not overcome her tendency to be egocentric – that's what makes flawed heroes interesting – we love them in spite of themselves. **_

_**3XK's hacker moniker – LifeT8KR (Life Taker) meant to be literal and figurative **_

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter20

Castle could not stop thinking about his confrontation with Kate. His reasoning brain told him that he had made the right decision, but his emotional brain kept fighting the rationale. His life was not better than when she filled it, but it was less emotionally chaotic. He could get up each day without having to walk on eggshells; something he didn't realize he had been doing until she was gone and he didn't have to anymore. It had taken him a long time to understand that somewhere over the years with Kate his priorities had shifted from being all about him to all about her. He hadn't thought anything was wrong with it; that love was supposed to expand the needs of "me" to the needs of the "we". He now understood that he had actually gone from the needs of "me" to the needs of "she" creating an imbalance in the relationship that he had inadvertently fed.

Kate had wanted to know, "What are we now?" That was a question that had haunted their relationship from its unlikely beginnings. They had been brought together by what Castle liked to think of as fate and tested over and over again by what; that fickle bitch destiny? Were they a pair of star crossed lovers doomed to separation and unhappiness with random moments of bliss, or were they simply suffering from the old square peg round hole syndrome and had never been a fit in the first place?

As for defining what they were, the closest they had come were experiencing _moments_ that defined them. Thinking about it, Castle realized how many of those actually made up their relationship: when Castle kissed Kate the night they saved Espo and Ryan, the time they almost froze to death, their last minute escape from drowning, the sniper's shot to Kate's heart, a zeroed out clock on a dirty bomb, the first time they finally made love and, of course, the day he had proposed and Kate had walked away.

Castle sighed deeply. At what point do the costs outweigh the benefits? After that day in the park, Castle had cut his losses. He had nothing left to give; at least nothing that Kate wanted. He had made a decision himself as he walked away from her that day; her decision wasn't going to break him. He wasn't going to be the same man he had been after emotional setbacks in the past. He would not hide and nurse his wounds. He was going to _Rise_ on his own terms and take back what he had given away to someone who clearly didn't want it. Not only was he going to get back what he had lost, he was determined to be more than he had been before and he felt that he had done that. He had gained the respect of Gates and he counted Espo, Ryan and Lanie as three of his closest friends. He had managed to put the character of Nikki Heat to rest allowing him to cut the remaining emotional connection to Beckett. And he had found someone in Mac with whom he could connect; who seemed to understand that he was emotionally wounded and needed time to heal. Castle had transitioned from an egotistical jackass to a man he was proud to be. It had been about time.

"Dad?" Alexis' voice cut him free from his reverie.

"Hey, sweetheart," seeing his daughter was just what Castle needed. After only a week, Castle was already hospital stir crazy.

"Can I guess what you were thinking about? Or should I say whom?" Alexis asked him moving into his arms for a hug.

Castle smiled trying to hide the emotional state he had been in with an evasive witty response, "Would you believe it was a double cheese burger with bacon?"

Alexis pulled away ignoring the burger dodge, "Was my grandfather here the other night?"

"What?" Castle was startled by the question.

Alexis gave him her don't try and protect me look, "You said it was a dream, but I wondered if maybe he really was here. He came for me when I was in trouble. It only makes sense he would do the same for his son."

"You always were too smart for your own good," Castle confirmed.

Alexis was excited, "Where is he?"

Castle answered her honestly, "I don't know. I was pretty out of it when he was here."

Alexis stared at her father with piercing blue eyes, "He's going to find the man that shot you; Tyson."

It wasn't a question, so Castle didn't answer. He just looked at his daughter and they shared an understanding that neither of them wanted to look at too closely.

"Will he come back?"

"I had the same question, but the truth is that I just don't know," she could hear the sadness in her father's voice and it hurt her. Alexis couldn't imagine not knowing her father. He was the most important person in her world. She wouldn't be who she was without him. She found herself wondering how different her father would be if his father had been in his life.

"So, I guess that means that Beckett was here too," Alexis touched her dad's arm.

His eyes clouded just hearing her name, "Yes, she was here."

"I told her to stay away, Dad, in fact, I said some pretty harsh things to her when she showed up the night you were shot," Alexis wanted him to hear it from her.

Castles eyebrows shot up, "You confronted Beckett?"

She nodded, "I told her she wasn't wanted or needed and to leave my family alone."

"That is pretty harsh," Castle replied.

Alexis frowned, "Are you angry at me?"

"Never, sweetheart, never, you were just trying to protect me. How could I ever be angry about that?" he reassured her.

"I hear that she is back at the precinct. That she resigned from her DC job," Alexis said changing the focus of the conversation.

Castle hated to lie to her, but he had to. "Yeah, she is back for now," Castle said trying to mitigate his white lie.

"Will you be working with her again?" he knew where Alexis was going with this line of questioning. It was work that had brought them together once; would lightening strike twice?

Alexis had walked away from Castle and was standing looking out the window. He went to her and turned her around to face him, "Alexis, you don't need to worry about me. I can take care of myself. It's my job to worry about you."

Her eyes showed evidence of threatening tears, "Not when it comes to her. I've seen you with a lot of women over the years, and no one has ever been able to get inside your head like she does. It's like she's in your veins."

Castle looked at his daughter and realized that her emotions and thoughts were not that of his little girl, but those of a young woman worried about his heart. "My relationship with Beckett is complicated."

Her face became flushed with what looked like anger to Castle, "She's got her old job back; does she want her old boyfriend back too? Is this how it works for her? She gets to upend everyone's life and come back four months later and pretend nothing ever happened?"

Castle hesitated. He didn't know if he was ready to have this conversation with anyone, more or less his daughter.

She wasn't letting him off the hook, "Are you still in love with her?"

"Alexis, I…" his voice trailed off as he thought about what he had told Kate when they had finally talked.

"You aren't the only one that had to ride the roller coaster that was you and Beckett," Alexis told him softly.

A pang of guilt hit Castle, "I know. I'm sorry."

"No, that's not it," Alexis was frustrated.

Castle was confused, "Then I don't understand."

A tear escaped down her cheek, "Dad, I'm in college now. I won't be coming home again. I know Gram is there right now, but …"

Castle suddenly understood, "You're worried about leaving me alone."

She nodded because if she tried to speak she would break into sobs.

"Sweetheart, I'm going to be just fine. I promise," Castle didn't know what else to say to make her feel better.

She found her voice, "No, you're not. I know you. You need people around you to be happy. You need someone to play with; someone to laugh at your stupid jokes."

"First of all, my jokes are not stupid and who says I am going to be alone? You seem to be forgetting about Allie?"

Alexis stared him directly in the face, "Seriously?"

Castle was astonished by her reaction, "Alexis Castle, just what are you insinuating?"

She wasn't about to back down, "Allie is really nice, but you and I both know that she is just a place holder for someone else. Are you the only one that hasn't noticed how much alike they are?"

"Alexis, the two of them are completely different, except for their body type, and maybe their hair, and I know they're both detectives…" Castle's head was spinning as he recalled Beckett and even that psycho Tyson saying something very similar right before the bastard shot him.

Alexis' emotions were getting the better of her, "I know you better than anyone, and you've never been able to lie to me about anything important. You avoided answering the question earlier. Are you still in love with Beckett?"

Castle couldn't even meet her eyes, "She's the love of my life. I'll always be in love with her, but that doesn't mean that we can be together."

As much as Alexis didn't want to hear those words, it still stabbed at her that her father was suffering the loss of the one person that he felt he had been waiting for his whole life.

"It's been so hard for me to watch her hurt you over and over," Alexis tried to explain.

"She's not the only one who made mistakes over the years," Castle countered.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks now, "But she is the one who broke your heart and walked away when you offered her everything."

Castle took in a double breath feeling like he had been punched, just like he did that day on the swings, "She did what she had to do at the time."

"How do you do it?" Alexis really wanted to know.

"Do what?"

She was almost bereft, "Keep being her champion; defending her actions even when they are indefensible."

"I guess that's what you do when you love someone that way," was all he could think of to explain it. "Someday you will know this kind of love. I only hope that you don't ever have to feel the pain of knowing that the love just wasn't enough to make it work."

In that moment, Alexis understood that she had no more right to interfere in her father's personal life than he had to be in hers. She hugged him again fighting her own feelings about his relationship with Kate, but she whispered into his shoulder anyway, "Kate is still in love with you too, Dad."

He kissed her on the forehead, but didn't say anything because he couldn't.

Alexis wasn't even trying to stop the flow of tears, "I don't know if I can forgive her for what she did, but if you can, then that is all that matters."

"What are you trying to say, sweetheart?"

With the most earnest of expressions Alexis said, "All my life you have taught me to go after what I want and that I should never let anything or anyone get in my way. If you and Beckett are over because that is what you really want then by all means, walk away and never look back. But if there's even a part of you that thinks you might regret not giving it one more try, you have to at least think about it."

"Kate once said things have never been easy between her and me and at the time, I thought that maybe that was what made it all worthwhile. But after everything that's happened, I just don't know if I have another round in me. I won't go back to that place where the ball was always in her court, and I was expected to react accordingly," Castle tried to explain. "And I have no reason to believe it won't turn out exactly the same way, with her gone and me standing here wondering what the hell happened."

Alexis smiled with tears drying on her cheeks knowing that what she was going to do was the right thing even though her anger at Beckett remained, "I've heard you finish each other's sentences a hundred times. I've seen you communicate with one another without ever saying a word. I've felt the connection between you two energize a room so intensely that the intimacy it created was difficult to be around."

Castle looked conflicted, "We've also hurt each other in ways that defy explanation."

Alexis laughed a little, "Did you expect it to all be roses and rainbows? Love like that comes with a catch; it cuts both ways."

"And it most certainly has," Castle admitted.

"All I am saying is this, don't shut her out because of how I might feel about her," Alexis' tone was sincere and gentle.

"I can't say for sure, sweetheart, but I think that is the most precious gift you have ever given me," Castle pulled her into another hug. "But you have to understand something Alexis, I don't trust Kate after what happened and she obviously didn't trust me or she wouldn't have lied about the whole job thing. When there's no trust, what's the point?"

Alexis wasn't quite done, "Have you talked with her yet?"

Castle's face fell, "Yes, we talked this morning."

"And how did that go?"

He didn't answer.

"Not well, I take it?" Alexis prodded.

He shook his head and the crushed expression on his face shook Alexis, "I guess you could say that we fought."

"Did she tell you that she wants you back?"

"Basically," he admitted.

"And you said?"'

"That I've moved on and she should do the same," Castle told her weakly.

"Well, if you told her with that face and voice, I don't think she is going anywhere anytime soon." With that, Alexis kissed her dad on the cheek and was gone.


	21. Chapter 21

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 21

The 9th precinct was unusually quiet, which left Detective Allie McMurphy plenty of time to reflect on everything that was going on around her. It was an odd situation really, she felt that she had not been a participant in the most recent events in her life, but that she been more of an observer trapped on the peripheral. It was true that her boyfriend had been shot by a serial killer, but she felt as though she had been kept at arm's length by those closest to him during the aftermath, and at times by Castle himself. She understood that she was new to this group of friends, and the situation had been extremely traumatic for everyone involved, but she found herself wondering about the boundaries, or lack thereof, that existed between the players. If she was the paranoid type, she might have felt that they were running interference for someone.

Then there was the return of Kate Beckett to the arena. This development added a whole new layer of complexity to a situation that Allie already felt was pretty intricate. Castle had been open about his relationship with the detective from the 12th. There had been a long dance between the two that had created a lot of baggage for them as a couple. The fact that it had taken them four years to get together and only one to implode; spoke volumes.

When she and Rick had "the" conversation about past relationships, he had made it clear to Allie that he was done with that part of his life and had no intention of returning to a situation where he was deemed insignificant and disposable.

Kate was the true wildcard in the mix. Allie didn't know her, but she knew of her. Her reputation for being intelligent, ambitious, driven, and laser focused when she had a goal in mind preceded her. Castle had never gone into detail about what happened when she left, but Allie did know that Kate had not only left Castle to take the job, but rejected his marriage proposal and offer to go with her to DC. And now she was back at the 12th. Allie had been shocked when she heard that Beckett had officially resigned from the AG's Task Force. It was a move that didn't really make sense if you looked at it through the lens that was Kate Beckett.

Another out of character moved related directly back to Allie herself. This whole weird dynamic with Castle and his friends roused her detective instincts and she had decided that there could be no better source of information on the group than Richard Castle himself through the vehicle of the Nikki Heat books. In a way she had gotten more than she bargained for, but every key player was there in one form or another. Allie pretty much got a disconcertingly detailed look at the feelings Jameson Rook – aka Richard Castle – had for Nikki Heat – aka Katharine Beckett. She knew Castle well enough to hear his voice while she read. It wasn't pleasant for her and when she came to page 105 – she skipped ahead.

"Thinking about Sherlock?" a raspy voice interrupted Allie's thoughts.

She smiled looking up at Slaughter, "I'm springing him from the hospital today. Did you ever go and see him?"

Slaughter perched himself on the side of her desk, "Nah, I don't like hospitals; too many dead people."

Allie laughed softly, "At least Rick didn't end up one of them."

"So, you helping Sherlock and the Scooby Gang with the 3XK thing?"

Allie knew why Slaughter had "dropped by", "No, the captain couldn't spare me right now."

Slaughter made a show of looking around the not busy squad room, "Kicked to the curb so soon by the return of the tasty Kate Beckett?"

Allie stopped smiling, "Shut-up Slaughter. You're such an ass."

"I knew that woman was too much for Sherlock when we worked that Jamaican severed heads case a while back," Slaughter continued to talk anyway.

Allie didn't try and hide her annoyance, "What can I do for you, Slaughter, so you will go away?"

"That's no way to talk to your partner," Slaughter shot back.

"I'm not your partner," Allie kicked right back.

"Oh, that's right," Slaughter admitted still smiling annoyingly.

"What do you want?" Allie was clearly annoyed.

"Fine," Slaughter finally let it go, "I was actually here to see about Sherlock."

"Liar," Allie accused.

"You're really going to make me do this?"

Allie stared him down, "I was wondering how you were doing, Mac. I heard that Beckett was back at the 12th and as soon as Sherlock is back on his feet, he will be too."

Allie eyed him suspiciously trying to decide if he was setting her up, "That's all true."

It was Slaughter's turn to eye Allie, "That's all you have to say about it?"

"What do you want me to say? It is what it is," Allie didn't want him to see that she was indeed concerned about that very situation.

He watched her carefully before speaking, "Hey, she ditched him. It's not likely she's gonna want seconds."

Allie looked at him wondering if Slaughter actually believed he was helping or he was just being, well…. Slaughter.

"What makes you think that you and I even have the kind of relationship where I would discuss my boyfriend's ex-girlfriend with you?"

Slaughter gave her a smirk, "I'm just so easy to talk to."

Allie actually laughed out loud, "Look if I ever need a shoulder to cry on, I can promise that it won't be yours."

Slaughter feigned disappointed, "Now that hurts."

Allie ignored him, "If you will excuse me Slaughter, Rick is waiting."

Slaughter started to speak, but Allie cut him off, "No, you can't come with."

Slaughter watched her leave with his customary smirk, but as she exited out of his sight, legitimate concern crossed his face. He knew what it meant when a man had the kind of feelings Castle had for a woman like Kate Beckett; feelings that tended to never really be over, but merely hibernating waiting to offer up unsuspecting participants the next Sucker Punch.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Allie arrived at the hospital quickly clearing the check points that had been set up to keep Castle safe on a non-critical care floor. After all, she had been to visit him each and every day of the last two weeks.

When she entered his room, she found him dressed not in jeans or sweats as she expected, but in slacks, a cobalt blue dress shirt and sport coat, "Wow, you dressed up for me."

Castle looked up from something he was doing on his phone and smiled at her, "There she is, my police escort."

Allie moved to where he sat on the side of the bed and stood between his knees slipping her arms around his neck, "You ready to get out of here?"

He smiled into her eyes and kissed her softly on the lips, "You have no idea. These last two weeks have felt like two months. I'm going stir crazy."

"Let's get you home and see if we can't do something about that," Allie teased him pulling out of his embrace and picking up his overnight bag.

"I'm all signed out, so we can escape any time," he told her.

"No wheel chair ride?"

"No way, might tarnish my new badass image with the press," Castle joked.

"Press?" Allie hadn't thought about that.

"Well, I am a crime novelist and I was recently shot by a serial killer. I think there might be a camera or two," he chided her.

Allie chewed her lip thinking, "If you are not up for that, I know a secret squirrel way out of here."

Castle raised his eyebrows interested in what she had in mind, "Sounds good to me."

"Great!" she said grabbing his right arm with her free hand.

"There's just one thing, Mac. I don't want to go straight home," Castle stopped her before she could open the door.

Allie was curious, "Really? Where do you want to go?" She was pretty sure she already knew.

Castle hesitated not sure how she was going to take his request, but he was determined, "I want to drop by the precinct."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Allie decided that supporting Rick, not questioning his decisions was the best route take with him.

He looked sheepish, "You don't mind?"

"I'm not your mother, I'm your girlfriend. If you want to visit your friends at the precinct, then that's what we'll do. Let's get your uniformed security detail and get out of here."

Castle smiled more broadly than he had in days. He had been worried that he would have to convince Mac that going by the precinct was something that was important to him, but she had surprised him and just supported him – and it felt good.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Espo and Kevin didn't know what made them turn and look at the elevator when it dinged this time, but they were glad they did. For the first time in weeks, Castle was in the precinct.

Beckett was at her desk on the phone and she looked up just in time to see the boys tripping over each other to get out of their desks and over to the elevator, "What's going…," Beckett's question died on her lips.

Kevin grabbed Castle first in a hug meant to be sincerely welcoming, but painless, "Castle, man, it is so good to see you walk out of that elevator again."

"It's good to be walking," Castle was grinning from ear to ear.

Espo gave Castle a shoulder bump, careful to use the right side, "Hey, bro, it's about time you busted out of that place and got back to work. Things aren't the same around here without you."

"Mac, thanks for bringing him by," Kevin said embracing her warmly.

"It's not like it was my idea. He was pretty set on the precinct being his first stop," Allie explained as she got the same exuberant welcome from Espo.

No one noticed that Beckett couldn't take her eyes off the scene.

It took a few minutes for Castle to get through all of the greetings, well wishes and welcome backs from everyone in the precinct that had gathered upon hearing he was in the building. He was glad he had come. It made him feel like things really could get back to normal.

"Mr. Castle," a familiar address caught his attention.

Castle grabbed Allie's hand and moved toward the break room where Captain Gates was standing in the doorway, "I don't think you have been cleared for duty as it were quite yet."

"No, not yet, but I just had to come by and say hello to everyone," Castle explained needlessly.

"I'd say this calls for a cup of coffee," Kevin announced. There was agreement all around and the five moved fully into the break room to celebrate Castle's return with everyone's favorite beverage.

Still sitting at her desk pretending to work, Beckett watched through the break room window as Javi, Kevin, Gates, Castle and his new girlfriend toasted his return with coffee. That hurt, and Kate tried really hard not to let it show on her face. As she watched them laughing and interacting with one another, she was jealous, plain and simple. This was the first time Kate had seen Javi and Kevin relaxed since she had returned to the precinct ten days ago. She recognized them; the partners she knew before DC.

Then there was Castle. She hadn't seen him since that day they fought in the hospital. He looked thinner and tired, but he was smiling a heartfelt smile and she knew his eyes were sparkling the way they did when he was really happy.

Finally, the group moved from the break room to the detective area; each with their coffee. Castle saw Kate as he turned toward Javi and Kevin's desks to find his chair, "Beckett."

Kate got up and moved toward the group, "Hey, Castle." Kate's eyes locked with his, absently dropped to his coffee, and back to his face.

Castle stumbled over his words, "Umm, uhh…Kate, have you met Detective Allison McMurphy from the 9th?"

Kate made eye contact with Allie and extended her hand, "Not officially."

Mac met Kate's gaze evenly, "Yeah, things were a little crazy that Saturday you arrived with your team."

All three men were silent, transfixed by the two women greeting one another amicably enough, while knowing there was a whole lot more going on beneath the surface.

"It was crazy that day and they're not my team anymore," Kate was smiling at Allie. "You're looking at my team."

"So I hear," Allie responded smiling right back. "Welcome back, detective."

"Castle, can we talk?" Beckett asked breaking the spell that had fallen over the men.

Castle looked at Javi and Kevin. The boys looked back at Castle with a look that said he was on his own with this one, "Yeah, of course," he answered following her as she walked into the nearest office, waited for him and closed the door.

"What's up?" Castle asked wanting to get the conversation going quickly.

"I heard from your dad," Beckett kept her voice low.

Castle had kept a good ten feet between them, but when she said that, he closed to within two, "Where is he? What did he say?"

"He's tracking Tyson's electronic footprint. He managed to track down this hacker kid who has worked for Tyson on multiple occasions," Kate was all business as she laid out the story.

"That's closer than we have come in the last year," Castle was intense.

"After some convincing, the kid gave up Tyson's hacker name and a website he trolls and uses to send messages to people who help him," Kate felt some of the old energy come back as they talked about the case. "So far, he did manage to find a guy who sold Tyson a gun after your shooting and he's working that avenue as well."

"He bought a gun after my shooting?" Castle was obviously hungry for information about his dad and Tyson, but Kate sensed a subtle shift in his mood and demeanor. "Anything else?"

"Only that he was calling in some favors from the internet terrorism guys to try get closer to Tyson or find another accomplice who might know more," Kate relayed everything she could remember while watching Castle's body language carefully.

"We might actually catch him with my father's help before he…," Castle's focus faded suddenly and Kate could tell he was obviously somewhere else. He was beginning to sweat, blinking rapidly and a glaze had settled over his eyes. He then let his hand touch his upper left chest area where he had been shot.

"Castle?" she reached out and put her hand on top of his. She knew instinctively what was happening, "It's okay, Rick," she spoke softly recognizing that distant wild eyed look mixed with anxiety and fear.

He jerked himself forward from that night in his loft to the present and backing away said, "I have to go."

Allie, Javi and Kevin had been chatting outside, but all of them knew something was wrong when Castle came barreling out of the office looking like hell, "Rick, what's wrong?" Allie was immediately at his side.

"I think I over did it. I need to go," Castle explained urgently.

Allie didn't ask any more questions, but she did shoot an accusatory glance at Kate, "Let's just get you home."

Beckett didn't take her eyes off Castle until the elevator doors closed.

Kevin had to ask, "What the hell was that all about?"

Espo added in, "Yeah, what happened in there?"

Kate offered a warning born of personal experience, "Guys, Castle's in trouble."


	22. Chapter 22

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 22

The boys stormed into the office and shut the door behind them; they weren't about to let what just happened go without an explanation, "What the hell happened in here, Kate?"

Kate stared at them trapped by an impossible situation. She and Castle were the only ones who knew Jackson Hunt was in the background tracking down Jerry Tyson. To complicate things even further, no one else at the precinct knew Castle's father was in the picture at all.

So Kate did what she had to, she lied, "I don't know. We were talking and he suddenly started acting strangely."

Kevin wasn't buying it, "What were you talking about?"

Kate's mind was trying to find a way to tell them what she could, "We were talking about Tyson and where we are with the investigation."

"You needed him alone for that?" Espo was angry. "Seriously, Beckett, you think that was such a good idea? The man just got out of the hospital fifteen minutes ago."

"What could you have said about the Tyson investigation that was so upsetting to him? We don't know anything new," Kevin wanted to know.

Kate was backed into a corner, "I'm sorry guys," she hesitated, "I can't tell you."

Javi exploded at Kate, "Of course she can't, bro, she's still a FED."

Kate had known that they were going to think that she wasn't telling them for that reason and it twisted her insides that there was nothing she could do about it. She couldn't betray Hunt and Castle; the result could be disastrous. She was just going to have to let them think that her loyalties were with DC and not them.

Kevin was frustrated and it clearly showed, "Something happened in there and only you know what it was. Maybe you can't tell us why, but you can tell us what. You said he's in trouble, Beckett, what did you mean?"

Kate's emotions were overwhelming her. She knew what she had seen in Castle's face and it explained how tired he looked and the weight loss, "He's showing symptoms of PTSD."

Javi and Kevin shared a stunned silence, "We were talking about a gun and he started to sweat, and shake, and he sort of faded out of the conversation. It was all over him, Javi. I know it."

Javi nodded. He had no doubt that Kate was certain about what she had seen in Castle, "I was wondering how he was going to deal with all this."

Kevin interjected, "You don't get held captive by a sociopath who then shoots you in the chest at point blank range and come out unscathed."

Kate crossed her arms over her chest, "I'm worried about him going back to the loft."

"Yeah, that office was pretty bad," Javi remembered the blood. "Maybe I should call Allie and let her know what happened here and she can at least watch for further episodes."

Kevin offered a thought, "Mac hasn't had to fire her sidearm in the line of duty and she's certainly never been shot. I'm not sure how much help she is going to be to him."

Javi and Kevin were both looking at Kate. She held up her hands, "I'm the last person he wants to see, guys."

Javi didn't shy away from taking a hard line, "But you may be the person he needs."

"Yeah, Kate, what about it?" Kevin reinforced Javi's thinking.

Kate was fighting the urge to head for the loft right then, "Okay, Kevin, call Allie and tell her what happened in the office, what we think is going on and what to watch for. Give her my number and tell her to call me if things go sideways."

Kevin nodded and left to make the call.

Javi was about to leave as well, but he stopped, "I guess I should say thanks Beckett, but I'd say you at least owe him that much."

Kate was left standing in the empty office with her thoughts and fears about what was to come. It was clear that Castle had been suffering emotionally since the shooting took place. He obviously hadn't been sleeping and she could guess that some pretty traumatic nightmares were to blame. The weight loss that she had attributed to bad hospital food, she knew now, was a symptom of a much worse issue.

Kate went back to her desk, praying that the return to the loft wasn't going to be the trigger that she feared it was going to be. She forced herself to be grateful that at least he wasn't alone.

Kevin trotted over, "I got her voicemail; she's probably driving. I didn't want to leave something like that for her in a message. I asked her to call me as soon as she could."

Kate checked her watch, it was getting dark and no one knew better than she did the havoc that darkness could play on someone mired in anxiety and fear. She checked to be sure her phone wasn't on silent and decided that she would head home herself. She had only been back at her old apartment a little over a week and she hadn't quite finished getting things back to normal. When she had gone to DC, she hadn't expected to be back so soon, so she had done a pretty thorough job of closing it up.

"Will you text me after you talk to her? I just want to know that someone is with him that knows what's going on," Kate asked not knowing what answer she'd get.

Kevin pulled his jacket off the back of the chair and looked at her not sure where he stood in all of this, "Sure, Beckett, I can do that. Goodnight."

Kate smiled gratefully, "Thanks, Ryan."

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Allie and Castle arrived at the loft and were greeted by a smiling Alexis and Martha, "Darling, it's so good to have you home."

Castle focused on his two girls and he was able to smile and relax a little bit, "I can't tell you how good it is to be home." He hugged both of them and held them each a little longer than usual.

Allie dropped his bag by the door and went to the kitchen to give Castle the space to greet his family. The ride home had been quiet after Allie had tried unsuccessfully to get Castle to tell her what had happened in that office with Beckett. He insisted that he had just suddenly become light headed and needed to leave. Allie hadn't decided yet if she was being flat out lied to or he was just being evasive.

Alexis led her dad to the couch, "You look tired, Dad."

He smiled and her and gave her another hug, "You know you can't rest in a hospital. They wake you up every four hours just to be sure you're still alive."

She smiled at him accepting his explanation and Martha added, "Well, you are home now and tonight you will sleep like and rock."

Martha then turned her attention to Allie, "Allison will you be staying with Richard this evening?"

"Mother," Castle tried to rein her in and he cast Allie a look that said he was sorry.

The smile Allie returned to him let him know she wasn't the least bit bothered by his mother's query, "Well, I haven't been invited yet, but…"

"Consider yourself invited. If you're here maybe my meddling mother will go out for the evening," Castle said this smirking at Martha.

Martha gave Castle her very best indignant glare, "I will have you know, Richard, that I do have plans this evening, but was willing to cancel them if you found yourself in need of me."

Allie had moved to stand next to where Castle sat on the couch with Alexis. Castle grabbed her hand and pulled her down on the other side of him and spoke in an exaggerated whisper so everyone could hear him, "Mac, she's going to cancel her plans, you have to help me!"

Martha picked up her handbag and made a grand turn toward the door, "I know when it is time to leave."

Castle looked at Alexis with raised eyebrows and continued his whisper, "No, she doesn't?"

Alexis laughed at her dad and rested her head on his shoulder smiling, "I heard that!"

The front door closed a little harder than usual, "I think you're in trouble, Dad."

"Nah, she loves it when I give her and excuse to go out and misbehave," Castle assured his daughter.

Allie settled in beside Castle and watched him interact with Alexis, "So, what about you, young lady? What are your plans tonight?"

Alexis eyed him carefully, "I do have some studying to do, but I can do it here just as easily."

"Aren't you in some big time study group these days?" Castle questioned.

Alexis nodded, "Yes, but I think I need to be here with you."

"Nonsense, Alexis, you go to your study group. Allie is here to keep me company. We'll have some dinner, watch a little television and get some sleep," Castle reassured her.

Alexis searched her dad's face, "You sure? I can stay if you need me to."

Castle kissed her on her check, "Go young scholar! I will talk with you in the morning."

Alexis sighed and laughed, "All right, I'm going to go then," Alexis then shifted her attention to Allie, "Thanks, Allie, for looking after him."

Allie nodded and smiled at her, "No worries, Alexis. Have a good session."

The moment that door closed behind Alexis, Allie felt a change in Castle. He seemed to be slipping back into the quiet place where he had been on the car ride home. She wondered if he was thinking about whatever had happened in that office with Beckett.

Allie tried to pull him back out of himself, "What do you say I jump in the shower, you get comfortable, and then I'll make us some dinner and we can watch that movie."

Castle forced a smile that wasn't very convincing, "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Castle nodded looking more through her than at her. Allie felt uneasy, but she cautioned herself not to over react. After all, this was his first night home and he had been through a horrific series of events and would need time to acclimate himself. She kissed him on the forehead and headed for the shower. As she was shedding her clothes, she pulled her phone out of her pocket. There was a missed call and voicemail from Kevin. She thought about giving the message a listen or calling him back before her shower, but decided against it. Whatever it was, it could wait.

Rick Castle was locked in a dead stare. The object of his focus was the closed door to his office. Not remembering making the decision to do so, he found himself standing in front of the door; the handle within arm's reach. A crashing sound of waves washed through his head and he could feel and hear his own heart beating. He shook his head rather violently trying to make the sound stop to no avail. The handle to the door shined so brightly that it hurt his eyes and he found that he was both attracted and repulsed by it at the same time.

Voices in his head were giving him conflicting commands. One minute he knew he had to go in and the next he was positive that he couldn't. Without a conscious choice actually being made, Castle's hand reached for the handle and pushed open the door. His breath was coming faster and shallower adding a light headed haze. The smell of fresh paint assailed his nostrils; his blood spray having made it necessary. The light from the living room and the office windows were just enough to complete his transport back to that night.

Castle's eyes darted around the room as he entered it more deeply; the chair where he was shot, the corner Tyson had stepped out of, the scotch decanter and glasses, the desk drawer that should have had a gun in it. He could feel his anxiety rising with every step he took. He stopped where he had fallen and his mind went to work painting the room with his blood. He'd been to more than a hundred crime scenes and he did it well. The freshly painted wall behind the chair lit up crimson as did the back and seat of his chair. Castle forced his eyes to the place he had fallen, felt his fists clench and his jaw tighten as his damaged psyche struggled to show him what he had lived through. As he stared at the floor, a small pool of blood appeared and began to spread rapidly in all directions. Morbidly fascinated, he couldn't pull his gaze away as the small pool expanded into what his mind thought one half of his blood volume must have looked like. His brain told him he heard a noise and Castle jerked his entire being in its direction. Sweat was pouring into his eyes and he couldn't see. Panic welled up inside of him and he reached for his chest in fear.

"Castle," a voice called to him from far away.

"Beckett," he whirled toward the call.

"Rick, it's Allie," she reassured him softly.

"Allie? What was that noise?" Castle was disoriented and felt stuck between then and now.

Allie approached him slowly, "Rick, it's raining. It was just a little thunder."

He still seemed confused, so Allie didn't want to move too fast. When she got to him, he had resumed staring at the floor. She had viewed the crime scene photos, so she knew what his mind was showing him. She carefully reached out and touched his arm.

Castle reacted as though he had been shot again, "No!" He hadn't screamed that night to save his sleeping family, but tonight that scream eviscerated him as it tore free.

Allie stepped back from him realizing that touching Castle when he was in this state was a terrible decision. A second violent thunderclap shook the room; he covered his face with his hands, "It's just the rain. Why don't you come with me?"

Castle seemed to hear her, "Where are we going?"

She was encouraged, "We're going to have some dinner and watch a movie. Remember?"

Castle's eyes were still glazed, but he turned toward her and seemed to be somewhat focused, "I'm really tired."

Relieved to see him coming back to the present Allie followed his lead, "I'm tired too. What do you say we go on to bed?"

Castle nodded and began walking toward her, "I just need to sleep. It's been so long since I could sleep."

He let Allie lead him to the bedroom. She sat him down on the edge of the bed and managed to take off his shoes and jacket before he just lay down and turned over on his side mumbling something incoherent. He was asleep before she could pull the covers over him.

Only then did Allie realize that she was trembling. Her mind was reeling from what she had just seen and heard. She sat down on the other side of the bed and watched Castle sleeping. His face had not relaxed and he was twitching as though he were dreaming. As her mind struggled with what to do next, she decided to just get through the night and get help for him in the morning. The worst had to be over; at least for the night.

Hours later Castle was engaged in a life or death battle. The office chair felt wet from his sweat and the corner where Tyson stood was lit with a glow that outlined his face and the gun with the silencer. He could smell the scotch in the glass he was holding and he could hear Tyson's words taunting him. He reached for the drawer, but it wouldn't open. Tyson's laugh reverberated off the walls as he aimed the gun at Castle and fired.

Castle sat bolt upright drawing in a ragged breath. He scanned the room as prey being hunted by a predator; looking in shadowed corners and behind partially opened doors. He had to get out of there. He had to get out of there now.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Kate couldn't keep still. The storm that was raging outside was a match for her anxiety level. Kevin had never texted her and she didn't know if he had simply forgotten or he had never spoken to Allie. Neither scenario made her feel much better. She kept replaying the incident with Castle over and over in her head and the more she thought about it, the more certain she was that being at the loft right now was not a good idea. He needed help from a professional to get to a point where going home again wouldn't be a trigger for memories that he wasn't prepared to handle on his own.

She was checking her phone for a message for the hundredth time when the banging on her door started. Kate was startled and grabbed her gun from the drawer where she kept it. She looked through the peep hole in the door, but couldn't make out who it was because they were moving rapidly back and forth in front of the door. "Who is it?" Kate demanded.

There was no answer; just more banging.

Kate tried the peep hole again, "Oh my god," she said throwing back the deadbolt and swinging open the door.

Castle stood in front of her drenched to the bone staring straight ahead, "I didn't know where else to go."

"Castle," she whispered as she pulled him into her apartment. She quickly surveyed him to be sure he wasn't hurt. The only thing he seemed to be missing was his shoes.

He had allowed himself to be brought in, but Kate could tell that he was in such a hyper vigilant state that he wasn't completely with her, "What are you doing here?"

He walked into the middle of the room and stopped. Lightening lit up the room and another shot of thunder tore into Castle. He raised both arms above his head defensively, but didn't cry out.

Kate went to him, "Castle."

He didn't move.

"Hey, it's Kate," she told him gently.

He still didn't say anything, but he dropped his arms slightly and she could see his eyes, "Castle, look at me," she encouraged in a soft even tone.

It took a couple of minutes, but finally the darting of his eyes slowed to a stop and he allowed his eyes to be capture by hers, "There you go. Can you breathe for me? Slowly in through your nose and out through your mouth."

He did as she asked and then finally spoke, "Kate."

She smiled at him and put her hands on either side of his face. They leaned their heads together until their foreheads were touching and their eyes stayed engaged, "I'm here, Castle. I'm here."

They stayed just like that for several minutes. When the last of the tension left him and his breathing had returned to normal, Kate led him to the couch, "I'll be right back. I'm going to get you a towel and some dry clothes."

Before Kate left the room, she was sure to take her gun and secure it in the bedroom in case it was a trigger for an episode. After grabbing a towel, Kate went to the drawer that she had given Castle for Valentine's Day. That's where she had left the clothes he never came back for after their last talk in the park.

When Kate returned to the living room, Castle was sound asleep. He was still pretty wet and she was about to wake him when she saw his face. He was sleeping; really sleeping. His jaw was relaxed and his eyes were still behind his lids and she couldn't bring herself to take that from him; especially when she knew his mind could turn his rest into nightmares at any moment. So, she took off his wet socks, lifted his legs onto the couch and covered him with the towel first and then several blankets.

It was only then that Kate had time to wonder what events had brought Castle to her door in the middle of a stormy night. She wasn't even sure if anyone at the loft knew that he was gone. Kate struggled with what to do. She knew she had to call someone and let them know Castle was with her.

As much as Kate hated it, she knew who she needed to call. Kate didn't have Allie's number, but she assumed that she was at the loft. She could call the main number, but if Martha and Alexis were there, the late night call might alarm them.

Kate decided to see if Castle had his phone on him. If he did, she knew that Allie's number would be easy to find. Gratefully, Castle was still sleeping peacefully and his phone happened to be in the pocket that he wasn't lying on.

Kate woke the phone up and was greeted with the four digit password prompt, "Damn." She started to put the phone down on the table next to him and just call Kevin when a thought stopped her.

Kate went back to the password input screen and typed in 5283. The phone unlocked. She remembered clearly the day he set her name as his code, "This way, every time I use my phone, I'll think of you." Kate was floored that he hadn't reset it when he had changed everything else in what seemed to her to be a systematic attempt to rid his life of her memory.

Allie's was the top number in Castle's recent calls list. She pressed the call button and waited for her to answer, "Castle?"

"No, Allie, it's Kate Beckett," she knew that Allie would be confused getting a call from her on Castle's phone.

"Kate, why do you have Castle's phone?"

Kate tried choosing her words carefully, "Allie, Castle's here with me."

"He's where?" Allie looked beside her in bed and Castle was gone.

"He's at my apartment. He showed up banging on my door about an hour ago. He was really out of it," Kate explained.

Allie was wide awake now, "He had a really bad moment in his office earlier tonight."

Kate wanted to press for more information, but she didn't, "I talked him down and he fell asleep on the couch. I didn't want you to worry."

Allie paused, "Thank you. I really appreciate that."

Kate wanted to tell her that Castle was staying the night and she could see him tomorrow, but she stopped herself, "What do you want to do?"

Allie was quiet for a moment and then sighed, "Is he resting?"

Kate looked over at him and he was still relaxed and just sleeping, "Yes, he is."

"This place set him off tonight. Bringing him back here now after he felt the need to get away so badly would be wrong," Allie concluded.

Kate had to give the woman credit, she was putting Castle's needs ahead of her own in a situation that made that a hard thing to do, "I think that's probably wise, Allie."

"Take care of him, Kate," and she ended the call.


	23. Chapter 23

_**Reader Buddies – Getting closer to 50,000 words! Don't think I am going to be able to wrap everything up with just 50,000 (But I will have met my Ficathon Goal!).**_

_**Continued thanks for the reviews and encouragement.**_

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 23

Kate woke to a sight she never expected to see again. Castle was standing at the side of her bed with two cups of coffee watching her sleep. She smiled at the memory, "Hey," she said softly.

"Hey," he said back. "I brought you some coffee," he announced needlessly.

She sat up and took the mug he offered, "I see that, thanks."

"It's the least I can do after last night's…," he didn't know how to finish the description.

Kate reached out and touched his free hand, "Last night was out of your control."

"I don't know what's happening to me," he looked like that lost little boy she knew so well.

Kate patted a spot on the bed and he settled beside her, "The shooting did more than injure you physically, Castle. What you went through was emotionally traumatic and the lasting effects of that trauma are causing some intense stress and anxiety."

Castle stared down into his coffee, "Just like after your shooting."

Kate nodded, "Exactly like my shooting."

"You think it's PTSD?" Castle already knew the answer, but he asked it anyway.

"I'm not a doctor, but I know a really good one," Kate responded trying to offer Castle a way out of the dark place he had found himself.

Castle looked at her surprised, "You'd actually let me go to the same shrink you did?"

Kate teasingly shrugged a shoulder, "He specializes in PTSD brought on by gun violence, but if you can't handle wondering what I might have said about you, I'm sure he can refer you to someone else."

Castle smiled and his eyes lit up just slightly, "So, you'd be okay with him analyzing me with you as my back story?"

Kate smiled back at him making eye contact that they both worked to hold, "You always said it's all about the story."

"Wow, it's a good thing I am sitting down. I didn't see that one coming," Castle teasing her felt good to Kate.

They stretched the intimate moment out as long as they could before Kate said, "I'm not sure that being at the loft right now is going to be the best place for you until you get a little help with the anxiety."

Castle took a drink of his coffee and sighed heavily, "You're probably right; if last night was any indication." Castle had another thought, "I think I also need to get my routine back as soon as possible."

"You mean come back to the station?" Kate's heart skipped a beat at the thought.

"Yeah, I think the sooner the better. My mind not having something to do all day is a scary thing."

Kate took a deep breath and threw it out there, "So, you think you will stay at Allie's for a while?"

Castle stared at her still holding on to the hint of a smile and questions in his gaze, "I was thinking more along the lines of The Four Seasons."

Kate took her turn staring into coffee, "Oh, I thought you two were pretty much… ummm…together all the time."

Castle waited until Kate looked back up at him, "Kate, we're not living together if that's what you want to know."

"It's none of my business, Castle," Kate said feeling the divide between them returning.

Castle stood up, "I think I had probably better go."

Kate forced herself to look up at him, "Allie knows you're here. I called her last night and let her know you were okay."

"I know, she told me. I talked to her as soon as I woke up." Castle was moving toward the bedroom door and turned back, "Thank you for doing that, Kate. You didn't have to."

Kate's face was pained, "Yes, I did. She's your girlfriend."

Castle seemed to be trying to find the words to say something else; taking a few more seconds before he spoke, "Last night, Kate, I actually slept for the first time since it happened. No nightmares." Castle couldn't tell her the rest of what was in his mind because those words could only be shared between the Kate and Rick who use to be. He couldn't tell her that he knew why he was able to sleep last night and not before.

Instead Castle forced a smile and asked, "Tomorrow?"

She nodded back, "Tomorrow."

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Castle came through the door in different clothes than he had been wearing when Allie had last seen him. Allie put that thought away and met him half way for an embrace, "I'm so glad you're okay."

Castle held her for a few extra seconds and drew back and kissed her, "I'm really sorry about last night. I wish I could explain it all to you, but I don't really understand it myself yet."

"You don't have anything to explain, Rick, I'm just sorry I couldn't help you," Allie told him honestly.

Castle could see in her eyes that she was struggling with the scope of the evening's events. He knew she had to be bothered not just by what had happened, but where he'd gone for relief. Altered state of consciousness brought on by the PTSD episode or not, he had sought out Kate.

"What do we need to do?"

He wasn't quite sure what he was being asked, "About?"

"Your feelings right now about the loft and getting some help for your stress and anxiety," Allie's tone told him she thought he was being obtuse.

He had been thinking about Kate.

"What else would I be talking about?" she asked.

Castle decided to just forge ahead, "You asked me at the hospital how I felt about Kate being back."

The shift in topic caught Allie off guard, "Yes, and you said you hadn't had time to process it yet."

"That's right," Castle acknowledged. "I've thought about it and it's complicated. Before she and I got together, she was my best friend; my partner. When we finally did cross that line, I added lover to that description.

Allie was listening intently, "And then?"

She watched hurt wash over him, "And then we imploded or she imploded us I guess. I was completely in love with her. I had waited so long for her to be ready and because I believed that she felt the same way, I didn't see the end coming." He stopped and took a steadying breath, "In that one moment, I lost three of the most important relationships in my life. I had allowed myself to get so wrapped up in her that I had failed to cultivate and maintain others. I swore then that I would never again allow any one person to have that kind of power over me, so I wouldn't have to relive that kind of pain and loss again ever."

"So what does that mean for your feelings about her now that she's back?" Allie had to know where he stood.

"I became someone I didn't like in the end. I was as desperate not to lose her as she was to leave. It still hangs me up that I was willing to give up the life I've built here in New York just so she could have the one she went behind my back to get. Who does that?" Castle was disgusted with himself.

Allie wanted to comfort him, but she felt there was more he needed to say, "Rick, just tell me."

"I can't stand here and tell you I am over her, Allie, but I can tell you that she and I are over," he told her honestly.

Allie didn't look so sure, "You forget I've been in the same room with the two of you. I'm not an idiot. I feel it, hell, everybody feels it."

Castle felt frustrated, "Feels what?"

"Come on, Rick, the absolute gravitational pull between the two of you," Allie's emotions were on the rise. "Last night is just one example of it. You were at the bottom of a dark hole during those episodes, but at the very core of your being you wanted; no, you needed her. And as screwed up as your mind was, you got to her."

"When Kate was physically out of the picture, there was a real chance for you to move on," Allie observed, "but now that she's back, I just don't see how anyone can compete with even the vestiges of what's left between you. They'd be crazy to even try."

Castle was stunned, "Were you even listening to what I said?"

"I heard exactly what you said," Allie held the tears back. "I heard you say that you're still in love with Kate Beckett and there is absolutely no doubt that she's still in love with you."

Castle looked like Allie had just ripped the scabs off of some deep wounds, "So we're in love! What the hell difference does that make when one person in the relationship has one foot out the door, takes more than she could ever give, and thinks what she wants is more important than the needs of anyone else? I deserve more than that. I want more than that."

"I don't know what to tell you about Kate, but I can tell you about me. I deserve more too," Allie wanted him to see that she wasn't angry, just realistic. "I want to find someone who feels about me the way you feel about her. She was a fool to walk away from you, Rick, and somehow I think she knows it now. You're an amazing guy." Allie kissed him softly on the lips, "I really hope that at the end of your story, the hero gets the girl." And just like that, Allie was gone.

Castle's emotions were a tumult of surprise, disappointment, and shock. His mind was trying to track the conversation to see where it had taken such a drastic turn that Allie had ended their relationship.

As a disturbing realization hit him that he was alone in the loft, Castle's anxiety crept back to the surface. His eyes locked on the door to his office. He decided that he should pack a bag, get to The Four Seasons and call Kate about the name of the doctor. Having a plan helped Castle keep his anxiety in check during the five minutes that it took him to pack a bag.

He decided to call Alexis and his mother and tell them not to come back to the loft, but to meet him at The Four Seasons. Both calls landed in voicemail, he told them he would explain later.

Castle was just disconnecting from the call to his mother when he came out of the bedroom. His eyes automatically shifted to the door of the office. Something made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He couldn't remember if the door had been open or closed when he went into the bedroom. He thought it had been closed, but now it was cracked open. He just couldn't be sure of himself since his emotions had been so unreliable since the shooting.

Castle convinced himself that he was being paranoid and that the best way to beat his fear was to face it. It was a bright sunny morning and he knew the office would be awash with light. He approached the door slowly, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth like Kate had shown him the night before. Castle pushed the door open with his foot and he knew immediately he'd made a big mistake.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Kate had made it to the precinct a little later than she had planned. After Castle left she had taken a long shower and tried to process what had happened between them over the last twelve hours. As she waited for the elevator doors to open she hoped that Castle was getting himself out of the loft and some place less likely to trigger an episode.

She could see Espo and Ryan goofing around over coffee and donuts and it made her smile to see that the deep freeze in the squad room was finally starting to melt a little bit.

The guys greeted her generally and were continuing their horseplay when Kate's cell rang. She was pleasantly surprised to see Castle's face pop up on the screen, "Hey, Castle, what's up?"

There was no answer. "Castle? Castle?" Kate's voice got louder each time she said his name.

The boys stopped playing when they heard the concern growing in Kate's voice, "Castle, can you hear me? Castle!"

The three of them ran for the exit, "Try calling him on your cell, Espo." His attempt went directly to voicemail.

"Ryan call that detail and tell them to break the door down if they have to," Kate ordered as she jumped into her car and Javi and Kevin into theirs.

The few minutes it took to get to the loft felt like hours to Kate. The three detectives sprinted up the stairs to Castle's floor and drew their weapons upon seeing that the door had indeed been kicked in.

Espo identified himself before making entry, "NYPD! Police!"

The officers inside called back, "We're clear in here!"

Kate entered first, her gun still drawn followed by Espo and then Kevin, "Castle! Castle!"

"Detective, he's in here," the officer called to them.

Kate holstered her weapon and ran into the office, "Oh, my god."

Kevin came in second followed closely by Javi. "Son of a bitch," Javi muttered not so under his breath.

Castle was standing where he had fallen after being shot holding his phone which was still connected to Kate's. His face was deathly pale, he was breathing erratically, and his eyes were glued to the wall, "He came back."

"Espo, help me get him out of here," Kate demanded.

Castle had clearly triggered into an episode, but he seemed reachable. Kate got in front of Castle cutting off his view of the wall, "Castle, its Kate. Let's get out of here, okay?"

He didn't answer her, but at least he was looking at her. She and Espo pulled him from the room and got him to the couch.

"I'll stay here with him. Go and help Ryan," Kate's face couldn't hide her distress.

Espo went back into the office to survey the scene. His focus was drawn immediately to the sight that Castle hadn't been able to tear his eyes from. The freshly painted wall behind the chair was covered with the message "Sorry I missed you" scrawled in what looked like blood. If that wasn't disturbing enough, there were two glasses half filled with scotch sitting in the same places they had been found the night of the shooting. The desk drawer was open and Castle's gun was back with a note that said "I thought you might need this". The chair itself had a huge Get Well Soon Mylar balloon tied to it. As Javi looked at it, the rhythmic dance the balloon did in the draft from the air conditioner was almost mesmerizing. And finally, Castle's laptop was open and on with a picture of a man's face taking up the whole screen with the question "Friend of yours?"

"I know that face, Javi," Kevin announced.

"That's the guy from the farmhouse sketch," Espo recognized him too.

"What could he possibly have to do with Alexis' kidnapping and 3XK?" Kevin couldn't wrap his mind around it to make a connection.

"Beckett," Javi called, "you've got to see this."

Kate left an officer with Castle and went back into the office. She took in everything Javi had, "Somehow he knows that Castle is struggling with the shooting. What the hell is he trying to accomplish?"

"Gaslight Castle?" Kevin offered up a theory.

"Beckett, look at this," Javi pointed out the picture on the laptop. "Look familiar?"

Kate froze; it certainly did. Jackson Hunt had been made by Tyson. Things had just gotten a whole lot worse.

"Get CSU in here. We've got to get Castle some place he feels safe," Kate tried to redirect Espo and Kevin away from the photograph for the time being.

They followed her back to Castle, "Where are we going to take him?"

The boys looked at Kate, "He mentioned staying at The Four Seasons for a while when we talked this morning."

"This morning?" Kevin questioned.

"He had an episode last night and showed up at my apartment. He slept on the couch," Kate explained with as few details as possible.

The boys continued to stare at her, "Fine, we'll take him to my place for now, but one of you two is calling Allie this time."


	24. Chapter 24

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 24

Jackson Hunt had come to a conclusion, 3XK was smarter than your average psycho. He had spent the last couple of weeks rattling a multitude of cages and permanently closing some of the more repugnant loops in Tyson's system of lunatics, freaks and miscreants, but Hunt was no closer to actually finding his target than when he started and that just wasn't acceptable. He had a score to settle.

The new plan was inherently more dangerous than the old one, but there was nothing unique about it. Hunt had decided to invite Tyson to play a classic game of cat and mouse; the twist being that Tyson wouldn't know he was playing. Hunt's role as the mouse would ensure that 3XK would feel as though he was in control; and that is where the fun would truly begin.

The first step was to let the cat know there was a mouse to chase. Hunt accomplished this easily enough by visiting the website that OffKilter had given him. The knowledge that LifeT8R was not an active user on the site but a "lurker" who used it as a private message board made it easy for Hunt to set his plan in motion. Using a sophisticated connection to the server, but one that with some effort could be hacked by anyone who had the inkling to do so, Hunt set his trap. He uploaded multiple queries related to 3XK and Jerry Tyson being careful to include key tags that Tyson would have in his post review program like: strangulation, murder, 3XK, asphyxiation, Jerry Tyson and as an gut impulse he added Richard Castle and Kate Beckett. What Tyson didn't know was that each of Hunt's posts had a reverse tracker virus attached to it, so Hunt would know who accessed the post, what they did with it and what their IP address was.

The second phase of his plan had to do with Tyson getting a lead on Hunt without actually finding out who Hunt was or where he was. Hunt decided the best way was to provide Tyson with a picture of himself he'd deleted off the security camera at the hacker building in DC. The phone he had taken from the hacker kid would do just fine for delivery to the lurker site. This would serve a dual purpose. Tyson would recognize the location of the photo assuring him that there was a legitimate threat out there and it would force Tyson to come out from under whatever rock he was hiding to find out more.

Once Hunt had finished with the tech part of his plan, he sat finishing his coffee in the same internet café where he had first seen the hacker kid. When Tyson tracked the uploads back to their point of origin, he would get an unpleasant surprise; they came from his own playground. Hunt had a thing for dramatic irony.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Beckett's thoughts were knotted together in a way that kept her from being able to determine what she needed to do next. Her first priority was Castle. He was sitting at the table in her apartment immersed in his own perceptions about what he had just seen. Kate surmised that some of them were highly skewed due to the level of anxiety and emotion he had been feeling when he had the experience. Skewed or not, there was no doubt the scene had been disturbing. What she didn't know was just how much he had taken in.

Javi and Kevin hung back closer to the living room watching as Kate pulled up a chair and sat knee to knee with Castle. He looked at her without prompting and she took both his hands in hers, "Hey, feeling better?"

He nodded slowly.

"I hate to do this right now, but we have to talk about what happened at the loft," Kate's voice was low for more than one reason. She glanced at the boys unsure of how much they could hear.

"I know," the haze began clearing from his eyes.

"Castle, did you see your computer screen?" Kate asked maintaining her muted tone.

"Do you think he's dead?" his shaken mind was going to the darkest outcomes possible.

She leaned in even closer, "No, I don't. He's far too good at what he does."

"Then how did Tyson get that picture of him?" he was clearly spooked.

"Hunt's been out there for a couple of weeks now shaking the trees. Something was bound to fall out, right?" Kate sounded more unconcerned than she felt.

Castle pulled his hands free from hers, "What do we do now?"

Kate's gaze bounced to the boys and back to Castle, "I think we have to tell them about your dad, Rick."

He eyed his partners standing protectively nearby, "You're right, I do. It's not fair to keep things from them that could directly impact their lives."

Beckett took the verbal swipe full on, "Do you want me to tell them?"

"They should hear it from me. I owe them that," Castle didn't appear to be intentionally throwing barbs at Kate, but she internalized each one.

Castle got up from his seat and walked toward Espo and Ryan where they waited expectantly, "Bro, we gotta get tech working on that photo on your laptop. We're certain it's the same dude from the farmhouse. He could be working with Tyson which would mean that Tyson had something to do with Alexis' kidnapping."

Castle shook his head and held up a hand to slow their roll, "He's not working with Tyson, guys."

Kevin looked perplexed, "How can you know that, Castle?"

"Because I know who he is," he was actually relieved to admit it.

Espo looked from Castle to Kate and knew that this development was not news to her, "Who is he?"

"His name is Jackson Hunt. He's an intelligence asset," Castle wanted to be as straight with them as he could. "He saved my life in Paris and helped me rescue Alexis from her kidnappers."

"I thought Interpol and the French Police rescued Alexis," Kevin countered.

Javi gave Kevin a look, "Really, bro? Don't you read? That's what they always say when a super spy does their job for them."

"How did you get linked up with him?" Javi was curious.

Castle prepared for words to come from his lips that had been foreign to him most of his life, "He's my father."

Javi and Kevin were blown away, "You mean…that guy… who tortured the guy…whoa… That's your pops, bro?"

Left speechless by the news, Kevin pointed at Javi, "Yeah,… um… what he said."

Kate had come to stand next to Castle.

"Your mom!" Kevin remembered what Martha had said outside of Castle's hospital room. "She said you had dreamed that your dad showed up. It wasn't a dream."

Castle shook his head, "He really came and for the last couple of weeks he's been hunting Tyson."

Kevin verbalized his thoughts, "And somehow Tyson knows there's an uninvited player in the game. That's not gonna make him happy. That may be what was behind today's macabre scene at the loft."

Javi looked directly at Kate, "So that means, you weren't a dream either."

"No, I wasn't. I helped his father get in to see Castle using my credentials," Kate admitted looking them both directly in the face.

"You misused your FEDbot powers? I almost like you again," Javi jabbed at Kate, but the smile he gave her along with a first bit of eye contact made it worthwhile.

She responded with her own smile in kind, "But in all honesty, I did it for myself too." She turned and faced Castle, "No one wanted me near you and I know that they had every reason to feel that way, Castle, but I had to see you just so I could breathe again. It was one of many selfish choices I've made lately, but it's the only one I don't regret."

Javi and Kevin felt a shift between the two leaving them feeling like they had been dropped into the middle of something they didn't need to hear, "I could use some coffee," Kevin announced.

Javi looked at his watch, "Yeah, me too. You two need some? Nah…we're gonna go."

Kevin backed toward the door, "We could be gone a while. You know how crazy those coffee house…uh…places can get when people…mmm… become under caffeinated."

Both Kate and Castle couldn't help but grin at the boy's exit.

Kate put her hand on his upper arm, "You might need to call Allie and let her know what happened at the loft and that it is a crime scene again."

Castle stepped away from Kate's touch, "No need for that."

Castle's tone raked over her nerves, "Why not?"

"The relationship is over, Kate," Castle's voice was cool and matter of fact.

"Was she upset that you were here last night?" It was an obvious question.

Castle let Kate make eye contact, "Actually, she wasn't upset at all."

Kate had a feeling that there was no right thing she could say, so she didn't say anything, "She said she can't compete with what we are or what was us, hell, I don't know what she said."

"Castle, I'm sorry," was all she could muster.

"Are you, Kate? Or is this just another number for you to pull on me before this case is closed and you head back to DC?" the words just flowed from the place he had been holding them.

"Castle, I…" unlike him, her words wouldn't come.

"Tell me, were you surprised when you found out I was still at the precinct; that things were actually going better than ever?" suppressed anger edged its way out through his words. "You left and I didn't bail. I stayed and I fought like hell to keep moving, but it was like quicksand. If I stopped in one place too long, I was going under, and if I went under, I wasn't sure I'd ever get up again and I couldn't let that happen. After the first few weeks, I realized that I wasn't your only casualty and it helped me to be there for the friends that you dropped out of your old life for your new and improved one. Do you even know how much you hurt them?"

Castle's paralyzing truths just kept coming, "I closed out the Nikki Heat series. Did you even know that? Do you even care?"

She did know, Lanie had told her so she wouldn't find out through the press and she did care; more than he would ever know.

Castle's venting had depleted his energy reserves and he sat down on the arm of the sofa, "For a long time, Kate, I just wanted to know why."

Kate had known that this conversation was coming since the day he walked away from the swings. The story was so much a part of who Castle was that she knew there would be little chance of him letting it go without getting his answers.

"There's no way that my answer is going to satisfy you because it doesn't satisfy me," Kate wasn't consciously aware that she felt that way until the words came out of her mouth.

He stood and walked back to where he had left her standing earlier, "That's okay. You're off the hook. I don't need to know anymore. I've finally grown up and learned that sometimes the answers aren't worth the trouble of asking the questions."

Kate wasn't sure who was talking right now. She didn't know this Castle. What happened to the guy that had to know the story behind everything; especially her? "Castle, there's always more to a story than its events; you taught me that."

"And you taught me, that it's important to know when to cut your losses, pack up your toys and look for something new," his voice betrayed what the lesson had cost.

"So you've moved on? You're past whatever we still are?" the question permeated the room.

His answer threatened to clear it, "Four months ago, we both revealed what our individual investment was in what we are. And today, I lost someone that I really care for because of whatever we still are; someone who made me feel like I was enough and that my needs mattered as much as hers. Since I have come to see what we still are through that lens, I guess the answer is yes, I am over whatever we still are. I'm just so tired of losing."

Castle stared intensely into Kate's eyes; their proximity to one another allowing that undeniable pull that Allie had identified to wrap around them both tying them to that moment; to that very space. How many times had she been the one to break the connection cutting off its natural progression? How many times had he? What damage had they done?

Still holding her eyes captive with his he whispered, "But being over something isn't the same as being past it, is it Kate?"

Each word that he had spoken stuck to Kate's skin, seeped into her pores and then down inside her bones. She had gone beyond just listening to actually hearing him; maybe for the first time. He was injured and he was lashing out; Kate knew she had to find a way to get him past the anger before he was ever going to be able to hear what she had to say.

There was a quick three rap knuckle knock on the front door before it opened allowing whatever was holding them transfixed to grant them release.

Castle greeted the boys with relaxed ease. Kate took the few extra seconds that afforded her to catch her breath.

"We brought coffee for all. The line was horrible. Hope they're not cold," Kevin chattered completely unaware.

Javi handed Beckett hers, "So Castle, tell us about your dad."

"Yeah, we want to know everything," Kevin and Javi steered Castle into the living room.

Kate watched them together and truly looked at them individually and collectively. It was all becoming clear to her how she had made something so simple so difficult. She had been listening to, but not hearing the voices of those she loved and those that loved her causing her to miss the messages of commitment and always that she thought she was still waiting for. And she had been watching, but failed to really see what had been around her all along; that someone who would never leave.

Unable to stop herself from watching Castle with Espo and Ryan, Kate felt that inexplicable force trying to connect them from across the room. Without warning, Castle's gaze was on her and she knew he was trapped too.


	25. Chapter 25

_**This post will hit 50,000 words- the ficathon minimum **_

_**This post has been tough to write – reasons too many to explain… can't look at it anymore… here it is. **_

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 25

Castle was nervous; first date nervous. He had never been to a therapist before though his mother had extolled the virtues of therapy for years. It was just quite possible that alone had kept him from ever going before now.

"Mr. Castle, sorry to keep you waiting," a deep soothing voice called from the doorway.

Castle turned and greeted Dr. Burke with a forced smile and a firm handshake, "The extra time gave me a chance to find all the exits."

Burke smiled at Castle's quip, "Please make yourself comfortable."

"Rick will be fine," he offered as he sat opposite the seat Burke had taken.

Burke took a moment to observe Richard Castle. He had a myopic view of him from Kate, he had read several of his books, and of course there were the tabloids detailing his various escapades over the years leaving the doctor with no doubt that there was nothing uncomplicated about the man sitting across from him.

"Do you find this awkward?" Castle blurted into the silence.

Burke seemed unflappable to him, "I think the more important question is do you?"

Castle laughed nervously, "I guess when I asked the question, I had my answer."

"Rick, I know several excellent therapists who I would be happy to refer you to if my history with Detective Beckett makes you uncomfortable in any way," Burke delivered the line without hesitation or falter.

Castle immediately rejected the idea, "Think of all the time and money I'll save since you know so much about me already." He was only half kidding.

"Do you think Kate talked a lot about you, Rick?" Burke was following Castle's lead.

"Didn't she?" uncertainty stabbed at him.

Burke just looked at Castle with a wry smile, "You're not going to answer that, are you? No, you wouldn't …the whole doctor patient privilege and all."

"Why don't we get started with you telling me why you're here," Dr. Burke shifted in his seat as though settling in for the duration.

"Beckett didn't tell you?" Castle adopted a sudden edge.

"She briefly filled me in, but I would like to hear it from you."

"It's complicated," Castle stalled.

"I understand, just start from whatever point in the story feels right to you," Burke encouraged.

"Okay, I fell asleep in my office, the serial killer 3XK broke into my house, we had a scotch and some conversation and he shot me in the chest at point blank range," it all had come out in an emotion free breathless rush.

Burke waited to see if Castle would try and fill the silence he intentionally left for him. He did, "And since the shooting, I haven't been able to be at my place without having these…episodes."

"Describe one of these episodes for me," Burke requested.

"Anxiety, panic, loss of focus, sweating, and debilitating fear," Castle listed the emotions he was battling without any.

"What do you do when these episodes occur?" he inquired.

Castle didn't like his answer, but he gave it up anyway, "I seek out Beckett."

Burke's eyebrow raised, but only slightly, "Why do you think you choose her?"

"I don't know," Castle attempted an evasive maneuver.

"I think you do," Burke challenged him.

Castle was obviously uncomfortable, "I guess because she knows what it feels like."

"You have a shared experience?" Burke looked for Castle to clarify.

"We've both been shot in the chest by lunatics and lived to tell about it," Castle fidgeted like he'd been stuck in a corner for timeout.

"Do you think that's the only reason?" Burke continued to pick at Castle's answer.

"Isn't that enough?" Castle questioned.

"It is if it's the only reason," Burke replied.

When Castle didn't say anything Burke lobbed one right at him, "Do you think it's possible that subconsciously you are using the episodes as an excuse to see Kate?"

Castle reacted virulently, "You think that I make myself go into one of these states on purpose?"

"I didn't say that. I believe your episodes are very real and completely out of your control. My question related to what you do when they happen," Burke calmly explained while Castle calmed down.

Sensing that he had struck a nerve not ready to be messed with, Burke changed tactics, "Has there been anyone else with you when these episodes have occurred?"

"My girlfriend at the time was there," Castle admitted.

"Was she able to help you deal with the symptoms of your episode?"

Castle jerked out of his seat and began pacing, "Sort of, I guess. She talked me down and got me to bed, but the nightmares came and I had to get out of the loft. It was raining. The lightning and thunder made things worse and somehow I found myself at her door."

"At Kate's door?" Burke reiterated.

Castle nodded, but his face showed he was clearly struggling with that choice, "Why would I go there?"

"Why wouldn't you?" Burke reversed Castle's thinking.

Castle's anger surfaced forcefully, "Because she and I are over; have been for months."

"Why did the relationship end?"

"She wanted a job in DC, and I wanted to marry her," Castle spat. "She wasn't interested in the latter."

"It's just that simple?" Burke pushed Castle's logic.

"It was for her," bitterness momentarily superseded his anger.

"Did she tell you that?"

Castle stopped moving and stared at Burke, "What? No, she didn't tell me that…not in words anyway."

"Then how do you know it was easy for her?" Burke forced Castle to question the validity of a conclusion that he was clearly using as an anchor for other feelings.

Castle was empty on answers so he turned to the windows and stared out fighting the urge to punch something.

"Why did you get so angry when the end of your relationship with Kate came up?" Burke decided to try yet another angle; he had a theory.

"Because it still hurts, I guess," he found something that rang true in all the confusion that had been swirling around in his head.

"When did Kate come back to town? Was it after your shooting?" Burke was trying to get the timeline straight.

"No, she came back on a Saturday morning and I was shot that same evening," Castle was putting those two events together for the first time and he turned to face Burke.

"Did you know she was coming?"

"No, she just walked in to the precinct with her new team," Castle's memory of the incident played out on his face.

"So within one twenty-four hour period, Kate returns unannounced into your life after abruptly leaving it, and that same night you are shot in your own home?" Burke was paraphrasing to help Castle see the enormity of what had happened to him.

Castle sifted through what Burke said, "That was an f'd up day."

"It certainly was, Rick."

"Are you saying that my episodes aren't just tied to the shooting?" Castle's question let Burke know that they were on the same path.

"I'm saying that it's possible that your episodes are tied to the events of the day and not isolated to just the shooting. When you talk about the shooting, you show very little emotion."

"When I talk about her, it's all emotion," Castle concluded.

"Why do you think that is?" Burke positioned Castle to dig for a personal truth he had been avoiding.

"Maybe if I don't give emotion to the shooting, I can distance myself from it," Castle found one that made sense.

"Why all the emotion, the anger, for Kate?"

Castle's confusion was crashing against a brick wall of resistance, but he forced his way over it, "So I can keep her at a distance."

"What do you think will happen if you let your anger go?" Burke focused on keeping Castle talking, but monitored his emotional fluctuations.

Castle's resumed pacing illustrated his agitation. Burke stayed seated and gave him time to walk it through both physically and mentally.

"I'm afraid…" Castle shut his own answer down.

Burke decided to risk pushing him, "What are you afraid of, Rick?"

The tangle of emotions that Rick had described in his episodes was surfacing as he battled with the answer, "I'm afraid that I won't be able to stop myself."

Castle's eyes took on a glaze, his breathing was irregular, and his hands were shaking, "Stop yourself from what?"

"Stop myself from going back," he went from being on the edge of what Burke surmised was an episode to being drained.

"Back to Kate?"

Castle nodded, but wouldn't look at Burke.

Now that the truth was out, Castle's symptoms had subsided somewhat, "What would that mean to you, Rick, if you went back to Kate?"

Castle was beat, but there was some resistance left in him, "Isn't my hour up, yet?"

"You're free to leave at any time," Burke assured him. "I'm here to help you find your way in your own time."

Castle looked uncertain, but he didn't move toward the door, "That I would be admitting that I don't deserve more. That what she did when she left wasn't wrong."

"Is it possible that Kate knows she made a mistake?"

A pained expression preceded his confession, "I haven't really given her a chance to say one way or another."

"Why not?" Burke asked bluntly. "Wouldn't it be better to live with the truth than whatever you've made up in your head?"

Castle fought against Burke's logic, "If I let go of the anger, all that leaves me is the fear."

"Fear of what?" he probed.

"Tyson," he readily admitted, "and what he's going to do next to me or the people I love."

"Being angry at Kate allows you something else to focus on besides your fears related to the man that shot you and threatened your family?"

Castle nodded. Burke didn't wait long, "What else are you afraid of if you let your guard down with Kate?"

"The next time," Burke could see the tension ripping through Castle, but he waited for him to find the words for his own story, "The next time something shiny attracts her attention and she's out the door."

"Let's say that what you just said is true. What does that mean to you?" Burke felt that Castle was on the edge of a major realization.

"That I'd rather live with the anger and without her… than have her for a while and lose her again."

Castle dropped down onto the arm of the chair he had been sitting in earlier as this new understanding sunk in, "So what do I do?"

Dr. Burke stared evenly at Castle's profile, "What do you want to do?"

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Castle headed straight for a coffee shop when he left Burke's office. His body felt as though he had been through a gauntlet. His head ached and his neck muscles were ropelike in their stiffness. It took what mental acumen he had remaining to determine that his next move would be arrival at The Four Seasons to check on his girls and set up a date with a masseur and a bottle of something expensive with psychologically numbing capabilities.

Stepping back into the afternoon sun, Kate's ringtone cut into his plans. Staring at her face on the screen, he almost let it go to voicemail, "What's up Beckett?"

"Castle, I need you to get over to my apartment right away," Kate made it sound urgent.

Castle stopped walking, "Is something wrong?"

"No, I just need you here. It's important," she promised.

"Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can," thoughts of his massage would have to wait.

Flagging down a cab, Castle was able to reflect on his session with Dr. Burke. He was awed by how easily the man had opened him up exposing his raw middle. Awed and impressed, though he really shouldn't have been since Burke had been the one to reach the most guarded person he knew; Beckett.

Foremost in Castle's mind was the path the session had taken. Instead of being an analysis of the issues brought up by the attack in the loft and Tyson, it had been more about Castle's feelings about Kate. As he backtracked through the conversation, he tried to find evidence that Burke had led the discussion there, but found none. On the ride to her place he was forced to look at his anger objectively and at suppositions he had made about her motives without giving her a chance to defend them.

"Sir! We're here," the cab driver's voice was annoyed.

Castle focused on the man realizing that was probably not the first time he had announced their arrival. "Sorry," Castle handed him a twenty and told him to keep the change as he got out.

When Castle got to Beckett's door he reached for his keys out of habit, stopped, mentally kicked himself, and knocked. There was no answer, so he knocked again; still no answer. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, Castle tried the door. It was unlocked. Kate never left her door unlocked.

Out of recklessness or a simple self destructive urge, Castle shoved open the door and walked in ready for whatever came next.

"Well, that took some balls, son," Jackson Hunt said as he stepped out of the shadows provided by the late afternoon sunlight.

Castle stopped in the center of the room, "Guess it's genetic."

"How did you know that Tyson wasn't the one waiting for you?" Hunt was trying to read his son.

Castle shrugged, "I didn't."

"What were you going to do if it was?"

"Wing it," Castle answered flippantly.

Hunt decided to let it go for now and embraced his son, "You look good, Richard. A whole lot better than the last time I saw you."

Castle let himself smile, "I would hope so."

"Sorry for the subterfuge, but I've lit a stick of dynamite under our boy Tyson, and I don't want him putting two and two together about you and me until it's too late," Hunt explained.

"So, Kate's not here?" Castle had to ask.

Hunt eyed his son, "She thought it best if we talk alone."

Hunt spent the next few minutes filling Castle in on his effort to ferret out Tyson; leaving out the part about dispatching some of the more undesirable acquaintances of his target. That could wait for another day much farther down the road.

"Tyson was adamant that no new players be brought into the game," Castle was nervous about his father's ploy and what Tyson would do because of it.

"Son, I've chased every kind of bad guy you've ever written about. This guy is smart; really smart, but he's made a crucial mistake. He thinks he's the smartest player in the game," Hunt explained. "Why do you think he wants to control who's involved?"

Castle remembered what Tyson had said in the loft, "He said that the players had specific strengths, skills and exploitable weaknesses."

"With an unknown in the game, it forces him out of his comfort zone as puppet master and back out onto the board where he's not in control of every move anymore," Hunt explained.

Castle was short on trust these days, but he put all he had in his father, "We're going to get this son of a bitch, right?"

Hunt smiled broadly as he clapped his son on the back, "It is my one and only mission, son. Kate have any beer?"

Castle retrieved two cold ones from the fridge and returned to the living room. After handing one to his father, the two men sat in silence for a few minutes just enjoying being in the same space.

"I don't want to cross any boundaries that you might have in place for us, but what's the deal with you and Beckett?" Jackson was treading lightly.

Castle took one and then another pull on his beer, "We broke up four months ago."

"Yeah, I know, when she took the DC job. That's not what I asked you, son," Hunt stared at Castle gauging his reaction.

"That's all I got," Castle dodged.

Less than a minute later Hunt declared, "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about your mother."

Castle stared at his father and grinned, "Martha's pretty unforgettable."

Hunt returned the smile, "That she is, son." Silence engulfed them again and both sank comfortably in to it. "I had one night with a woman that I have loved ever since," Hunt offered.

Castle's defenses were down from the beer and the session with Burke, "I had a year with mine. Maybe I should be more grateful."

"You giving up on her, boy?" Hunt's voice posed a challenge.

"Did you know I asked her to marry me?" Castle revealed. "No strings attached. The DC job wasn't even a factor."

Hunt had not known, "I'm sorry."

"I wasn't the one who gave up on us, that's all," Castle got up to see if there was any more beer.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Kate left her apartment just before Castle arrived deciding a visit with her own father would do her some good. She found him waiting for her at the diner in the same booth they had shared the day she made the fateful decision to take the DC job.

"Hey, Dad," she said sliding in opposite him and giving him a smile.

"Katie, how are you?" he asked searching her face.

"I'm not going to lie, it's been tough," she told him honestly.

"How's Rick?"

"Physically he's healing well, but emotionally he's struggling," Kate held back on the details.

"I guess that's to be expected, given everything that's happened," he picked up on the vague answer, but let it go. "So, what'd you want to talk about?" he cut to the chase. Kate never asked to meet him during the day like this unless it was important.

"Can't I just want to see my dad?" Kate attempted a redirect that immediately fell flat.

"Katie, it's me. Talk," he used his father voice as encouragement.

"I resigned from the task force and rejoined the 12th as part of a plan to catch Tyson," Kate lowered her voice so no one else would hear her. "Only a handful of people know about this."

Her dad looked surprised, "Is this for real or just a ruse?"

"For all practical purposes it's for real. The paperwork was filled out and turned in; I relinquished my badge and gun to Stack, and I have my old position back with NYPD. With Tyson's connections, we didn't want him to have any way to prove my resignation from the task force and my reinstatement at the 12th wasn't for real."

Kate's expression told her dad there was much more, "Does that mean after you catch him you'll be returning to DC and the task force?"

Turmoil swirled in Kate's eyes, "I'm not sure I want to go back."

"That doesn't surprise me in the least, Katie," her dad answered definitively.

"But...," she faltered.

Her father looked at her questioningly, "But what about, Rick?"

Kate nodded, "He's so angry, Dad, and he's not even the only one."

"When you left this diner four months ago, I told you that you were going to have to live with the repercussions of your decision. One of those being the possibility that Rick would not be able to forgive you," he intentionally didn't use the word hate.

Kate's eyes began tearing, "He's been working at the 12th since I left and has become the leader of my old team. Castle, Espo and Ryan are like the three musketeers; and they have become fiercely protective of him. Even Gates has warmed up to him and considers him an asset to the department, and my best friend chose him over me when it all came down to it."

"Not what you expected, sweetheart?" Jim had felt his daughter's regret in every word.

"I don't know what I expected. I didn't let myself look at what would happen here when I left," it was a self indictment.

"What happens to all that Katie if you decide to come back?"

"That's the problem. As much as I want to, I can't come back if it means diminishing everything he's accomplished. What if he decides to leave because I come back?" Kate's voice had dropped to a low whisper. "And it's not just about him, Dad, everyone seems to have adjusted and moved on. What right do I have to turn everything upside down again just because I made a mistake?"

"You don't know that would happen," her dad tried to offer some hope.

A tear escaped down her cheek, "I can't risk hurting him again; any of them."

"So when this case is over…," her dad stopped to let her finish the statement.

"I'm going back to the task force because it's the only decision I can live with," Kate's eyes were clear behind her tears.

"What about you, Katie?" he was her father after all. "I know you're still in love with him."

Kate wiped away a stray tear, "That's why I have to go back."

Jim Beckett stared at his daughter with an ambivalent heart. He was filled with admiration and pride to see Kate willingly putting the needs of others before her own, but aggrieved to know it was going to cost her the future that would have brought her true happiness.


	26. Chapter 26

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 26

Kate hadn't heard from Castle or Hunt, so heading home wasn't an option. She decided that Lanie's place might be somewhere she could decompress and have a glass of wine with a friendly face. A quick call later, she was headed over.

Lanie had told her the door would be open, so Kate just walked in and announced her arrival. "I'll be out in a second. Wine is breathing on the counter," Lanie yelled from the bedroom.

"Excellent," Kate said as she poured herself a glass.

Since Kate had decided that going back to DC when the case was over was the best decision she could make for everyone, she had been wondering exactly how she was going to rebuild. She had no friends outside of the AG's office. She hadn't dated anyone since Castle – not because she hadn't had the opportunity – but because she hadn't had the desire. This was going to require a complete reset of her thinking about her commitment to DC and her life there.

"Hey, girl, good to see you," Lanie called as she entered the room freshly showered and relaxed.

"Thanks for letting me drop by," Kate raised her glass toward Lanie.

She smiled pouring herself a glass, "How's our boy?"

"He went to see Dr. Burke today, but I haven't seen him since the session, so I don't know if it helped," Kate answered her moving to sit on the couch.

"Well, he helped you when you were walking a very thin line. Hopefully, he can do the same for Castle," Lanie joined her on the couch. "Anything new on the case?"

Lanie wasn't aware of Jackson Hunt yet, so Kate gave her a quick no and skirted the question, "I saw my dad today."

"Really? How is he? I haven't seen him since you left," Lanie pointed out.

"He's good," Kate answered perfunctorily.

"So, now that you're back. How does it feel?" Kate realized that Lanie hadn't been looped in on what was really going on. She thought Espo would have told her.

"Lanie, there's something that you don't know," her serious tone had Lanie's looking concerned. "I'm not really back. I mean I am, but I'm not."

"What are you talking about, Kate?" Lanie was confused.

"I resigned from the task force and rejoined NYPD as part of a larger plan to catch Jerry Tyson," she explained.

Lanie's smile faded as she began to understand, "So you're not back. Not really."

Kate shook her head, "Believe me, I wish I could be."

Lanie pounced on Kate's statement, "You don't want to go back to DC?"

Kate drained her wine glass, "No, I don't."

"Then why are you?" the look on Lanie's face underscored her question.

"I have to," Kate told her as the conversation with her father came rushing back.

"You don't have to do anything. As a matter of fact, I've never known you to do anything you didn't want to do," Lanie grabbed the wine bottle off the counter and refilled both of their glasses.

"I owe it to Castle," Kate's voice was low and hard to hear.

"Excuse me? You owe what? To whom?" Lanie was incredulous.

"He's moved on; built a life that he deserves to keep without me coming back and screwing it all up," Kate heard her own words and they even sounded weak in her ears. "He even had a girlfriend; at least he did until I came back."

"Kate Beckett, you owe that man something, but it is not you slinking back to DC telling yourself that you are doing it all for him," this was more than Lanie could ignore. "I think this may be more chicken shit than how you left the first time. At least then you weren't trying to tell yourself that you were doing it for him. And as for his girlfriend; did you see the woman? She was you!"

Kate was staggered by Lanie's reaction to her plan, "He hates me, Lanie. Every chance he gets he tears into me about how badly I've hurt him and how selfish I've been."

"And you don't see how selfish this new plan is?" Lanie didn't know how she was going to get Kate to see it.

"How is it selfish of me to give him what he keeps telling me he wants? He wants us to be over and he wants to get past me," Kate's voice was raised.

"Damn it Kate, are you really that blind?" her tone was acerbic.

"I guess I am, because I don't get what you want from me," Kate's tears drained down her cheeks.

"It doesn't matter what I want; it all comes down to what you want; who you really want."

Lanie went to Kate and took her by both hands, "Tell me what you want, Kate."

Lanie saw a fire erupt in Kate's eyes as she finally let it out, "I want my life back, Lanie. I want Rick."

"How the hell are you going to get it back if you keep running away from it; from him?" Lanie kept her locked in place.

The fire was still there, "How do I get him to listen to me?"

"You keep going back," Lanie needed her to see there was only one way, "and if he shoots you down, you go back again, and again, until he hears you."

Kate's pain was so pervasive that it stung Lanie, "How do I fight this unrelenting anger? He starts in and I shut down; I don't know what to say."

"Why do you think he's doing that?"

She had been so focused on the "what" that she hadn't even thought about the "why" until Lanie asked her. The realization gave her insight into Castle she had never had before, "It's his defense. Words have always been where he hides."

Lanie nodded at her, "Now you've got it, girl."

"You're right, if I leave again I'll be repeating the same mistake," she couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before. "Everything he is saying is his way of challenging me to fight back; to prove him wrong."

"He's going to need proof, and lots of it," Lanie agreed with her.

"I need a cab," Kate told her finishing her third class of wine.

Lanie didn't ask; she just dialed.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Father and son had finished off the six pack by the time Kate came through the door. In fact, they were still sitting in the same spots they had landed in when the beers began.

Kate surveyed the room and didn't miss the parallel boys and girls nights that had been going on.

Jackson rose to his feet getting the feeling that it was time for him to go, "Night, son. Beckett."

Kate followed Hunt to the door. Their eyes locked briefly, "Good luck, kid." Kate locked the door behind him and returned to the living room.

"We need to talk." Kate announced.

"I think I've heard that one before," Castle and three beers on an empty stomach equal belligerent.

Kate took a deep breath and reminded herself that he was using his words to hide from her and if that didn't work he would use them to push her away, "Castle."

He didn't look at her. In fact, he stood and turned toward the windows, "Castle, look at me."

"Rick!" Kate's voice was commanding and he finally looked at her.

"What do you want, Beckett?" he looked exhausted and a little buzzed.

"There's something I need to say," she told him in a softer tone.

Castle wasn't drunk, but the edge had certainly been taken off, "What if I don't want to hear it?"

Kate moved to where she was right in front of him; where he could see her eyes, "Four months ago, I made the biggest mistake of my life, Rick. I was selfish and stupid."

Castle tried to move away not wanting to hear this, but Kate moved with him, "When you asked me to marry you, I panicked. I was expecting you to break up with me. You had every right to. That's what I deserved after how I handled everything."

"What do you want from me?" he looked desperate and like he wanted to run.

"I want you to let me tell you how sorry I am for everything; for thinking that the job wasn't about us, for saying no to the proposal, for doubting what we were, for thinking there could ever be more than us for me anywhere, for causing you all of this pain, for running away from us; god, mostly for running."

Kate studied his face; she didn't think anything she was saying was getting through, "Castle, I'm here to stay. I'm not going back to DC. My life is in New York because you're in New York. It's always been here; with you. I was just too self-involved to see it before; too scared. I'm not going away, ever and I'm going to keep coming back until you believe me. I don't care how long it takes."

Castle stared at Kate as though he were looking for something. At least he wasn't trying to move away from her anymore, "I can't do this!"

Kate cupped his face in her hands, "That's okay, I'll do it for both of us until you can."

"No, it's not possible. We can't come back from this," Castle was talking more to himself than to Kate.

"Yes, we can and we will. I'm going to prove it to you," Kate gently slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. And for only the second time in their relationship Kate whispered to him, "I love you, Rick."

Castle resisted at first, but when he felt her warm tears on his neck his arms encircled her waist and they held on to one another for the first time since their world imploded.

Kate clung to him until she felt him releasing her. She looked into his face, "You look ready to drop where you stand. Let me put you to bed."

For a man of words, he couldn't find any for this moment, but he let Kate lead him to her bedroom knowing that tonight the nightmares wouldn't come; there would be a peace to his sleep that had been missing far longer than the night Jerry Tyson tried to take his life. And even if it was only for this one night, he would rest because she was next to him.


	27. Chapter 27

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 27

Castle woke up not from a nightmare, but startled, "Kate," he whispered hoarsely.

"Hey, I'm right here," Kate got up from the chair where she had been watching him sleep and went to him.

He smiled at her and though Kate looked for it, she couldn't find the anger that usually resided behind those blue eyes when he looked at her, "What are you doing? Watching me sleep?"

Kate sat down on the bed beside him, but was careful not to crowd him, "I didn't want to wake you and I didn't want you to wake up alone, so I just waited, and yes, watched you sleep."

"You look like you're ready to go somewhere," Castle took note of the fact that Kate was fully dressed.

She nodded, hesitated, and then sought his eyes with hers, "Last night, I said some things…"

Castle's face clouded, he was sure she was going to retract every word.

Kate sensed his reticence, "I said some things I should have been saying for the last five years every chance I got."

Castle was listening and Kate wasn't going to miss this opportunity, "Rick, I meant every word I said last night, but I want you to know that I realize that just words aren't going to fix things between us. Words have always been your specialty and actions, well; they are going to be mine. I am going to prove to you that I am committed to this; to us."

"No matter how long it takes?" Castle had been listening last night.

Kate smiled, "Even if it takes another four years."

"Wow, that's quite a promise," Castle's mood lightened.

"You waited for me that long," Kate reminded him softly.

"Touché," he acknowledged.

"I also want to discuss something with you before I go to the precinct," Kate turned the conversation to a more serious subject.

Castle immediately tensed and Kate felt regret knowing that she was responsible. She had conditioned him through callous disregard for his feelings to think that talking meant receiving a decision she had already made that he was expected to accept.

He sat up straighter in bed as if bracing himself, "What is it, Beckett?"

"I told you I'm not going back to DC after Tyson has been dealt with," Kate reached for and gently rubbed Castles hand in small circles with her thumb to calm him. "I'm staying in New York and I intend to return legitimately to the NYPD."

Castle was mesmerized by both her words and her touch, "I remember."

"I'm going to tell Gates and Stack this morning," Kate watched Castle's eyes for any sign of a reaction. She wasn't surprised at the doubt she saw; it only reinforced her resolve.

"Castle, when Tyson is in the ground where he belongs and it's time for things to return to some version of normal, I want us to decide together how I'm going to come back. It doesn't have to be at the 12th."

Castle's couldn't hide his surprise as he understood what Kate was offering, "The 12th is your home."

She shook her head, "No more than it's yours now. You've built something amazing, and I don't know if it means anything to you or not, but I'm really proud of you."

That boyish grin that Kate loved so much broke across his face, "It does mean something; a lot actually. Thank you."

Kate smiled back at him and had to physically move away from him to keep from kissing him. She didn't want to push too hard. She had made her intentions known, and now she needed to give him time to respond.

"Why don't you get in the shower and I'll make you some coffee," Kate offered trying to distract herself from wanting him.

"I do need a shower, but I also need some more clothes and that means a trip to the loft," Castle's smile was erased by the thought.

"I can go; if you want me to," Kate volunteered trying to make it possible for Castle to return to the loft only when he was ready.

Castle had to concede that avoiding the loft would be the easy thing, but he asked, "Would you go with me?"

Kate was elated that he asked, but didn't want to spook him by being so excited about it, so she just smiled, "Of course, I will."

Their eyes met and tendrils of the magnetism that so defined their connection reached out for them. Kate didn't move or attempt to break free of it; that was part of her past. Castle seeing a resolve in Beckett's eyes he's never seen before broke the spell himself, "I'll be ready to go in fifteen minutes."

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

3XK was pissed. There were too many things going on that he couldn't explain, and if he couldn't explain them, then he couldn't control them.

The most concerning of which was the mystery man that was digging around like a damn spelunker in his life and the lives of those with whom 3XK conducted business. Of further issue was the fact that more than several of his associates had seemed to fall off the face of the freaking earth in the last few weeks.

Using every connection that he had, 3XK hadn't found out much, but his gut told him that this man had something to do with Richard Castle. After all, the interloper had not appeared until 3XK upped the stakes and put a bullet in the writer.

There was a new player in the game; and a dangerous one at that. And if he recalled correctly, 3XK had made it quite clear to Castle that was against the rules. It was time to wake up New York; someone was going to have to pay.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Kate hadn't pressured him for details, but Castle had decided at some point between his shower and coffee that he wanted to put the trip to the loft off until later. He was interested, however; in going to the precinct and trying to get back into some sort of routine.

Kate's car was at Lanie's, so the two took a cab to her place, picked it up and headed to the precinct.

The elevator door dinged, the doors opened and like hundreds of times before Kate Beckett and Richard Castle stepped into homicide together, to-go coffees in hand, chatting about nothing in particular, but of interest to both.

Javi nudged Kevin, "Look, its mom and dad."

Kevin watched them walk in together just like old times toward Kate's desk. Javi waited for Ryan to toss a one-liner back, but he didn't. From the look on Kevin's face, Javi thought it best to let it go.

Castle and Beckett stood at her desk finishing up their conversation, and then Castle turned to the boys and took his seat between their desks, "Good morning, partners," Castle's greeted them.

"What's that about?" Kevin used his chin to point toward Beckett.

Castle glanced at her and back at the boys, "We rode in to work together." Castle left out the part about where he spent the night.

Kevin didn't look so sure about recent developments, and when he walked into the break room for some coffee a few minutes later, he still didn't.

At about the same time, Kate took a long look at Castle joking around with Espo, crossed to Gate's office, knocked and went in closing the door behind her.

Castle's attention was locked on the two women behind the glass and open blinds. Kevin came back with his coffee and stood next to Javi, "What's do you think is going on there?"

Javi looked at Castle, but he was transfixed on the scene behind the door and not talking. Moments later, Kate came out of the office unreadable. Kate looked directly at Castle and he followed her with a unwavering gaze. She nodded slightly and a small smile crept from the side her lips.

Castle spun his chair back around to face the boys, "So, where are we with subway girl?"

Espo and Ryan knew that something had just transpired but were clueless as to what. They knew Castle was in that loop, but he wasn't talking.

"We're nowhere, bro, absolutely nowhere," Javi answered still a little distracted.

Gates suddenly popped her head out of her office, "We've got a body." She looked at the four in front of her and had a decision to make of her own, "Castle, Espo, and Ryan this one's yours."

Castle hazarded a look at Beckett, she was smiling at them, "Lanie gets really pissed if you keep her waiting."

Javi shot Kate an approving look, "No shit, remember when we were late to that double drop on 23rd last month?"

Castle jumped in as the three of them hit the elevator, "I needed coffee. It's not like we didn't bring her a bear claw."

"Where're we going anyway?" Kevin interrupted and the elevator doors closed leaving Kate smiling after them. Kate grabbed her jacket and headed for the elevator herself, she had a meeting with Stack to get to that wouldn't wait.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

When architect Calvert Vaux and landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted created the visual masterpiece that is Central Park in 1859, it was unlikely that their vision included the one that met the boys from the 12th.

Their destination was the popular Chess and Checkers House within the park. Castle had actually been there many times with Alexis when she was learning to play chess as a child. He recalled the rustic pagoda surrounded by 24 outdoor tables where masters and neophytes alike could find a game 365 days a year.

This morning all game play had been suspended. Yellow police tape cordoned off the entire area leaving young and old alike to gawk at a crime scene instead of the great chess moves of the masters.

"Hey, Castle, good to see you," an officer called as he held the crime scene tape up for the trio to pass.

Castle smiled, "It's good to be seen, LT."

As they approached one of the chess tables closer to the tree line, they saw the body of an adult male seated on the bench, but slumped over the table; his face turned away from them.

"What have we got, Lanie?" Castle took the lead.

"Hey, Castle, nice to have you and your trained monkeys back," Lanie gave the boys a snarky smile. "We have a male approximately 40 years old. TOD was between five and seven hours ago."

"COD?" Javi interrupted; payback for the monkey comment.

Lanie glared at him with a smirk, "Strangulation."

Castle, Espo and Kevin cranked down the playfulness and were fully at attention, "3 strand quarter inch twist?"

"I'm not sure yet. Help me turn him," Lanie asked a CSU tech.

The moment that Castle saw his face, he knew the murder weapon would be 3 strand quarter inch twist and green and white fibers would be found in the wound.

Lanie saw the blood drain from Castle's face and heard him draw in a labored breath, "Castle, do you know him?"

Castle moved closer to the body, but had a hard time finding his voice, "That's Henry. Henry Lowell. He manages The Old Haunt for me. You all met him the night of the party."

No one said it, but they all knew this was 3XK.

"I found this in his hand when I first got here, but didn't think anything of it until now," Lanie handed Castle a chess piece in an evidence bag.

"It's a rook," Castle knew why Henry was dead.

Kevin followed up, "Also known as a castle. It's a piece that can move in a straight line as far as it wants to taking out any opposing piece in its path."

Castle tacked on almost absently, "The only way to stop a rook is to put one of its own pieces in the way."

Javi, Kevin, and Lanie watched Castle wondering if he was going to be able to handle this on top of everything else.

"What's that?" Castle saw something under Henry's arms on top of the table, but he stayed back.

Lanie motioned the CSU guys to remove the body to the waiting gurney, "Writing of some kind."

"What does it say?" Kevin got closer with Javi.

Javi read it and looked at Castle understanding exactly what had happened to Henry, "You take out my help, I take yours. You were warned."

Castle had to move away from the scene. He felt his heart rate rising, so he focused on his breathing trying to ward off a public episode.

Javi and Kevin were at his side, "Let's get out of here, bro, we have what we need."

Castle let himself be led away still clutching the evidence bag with the rook. In his distracted state, he failed to see the man in the crowd with a black baseball cap and dark sunglasses.


	28. Chapter 28

_**Another difficult one to get the way I wanted it….. it may need some work tomorrow.. but for now.. here you go… **_

_**And… a very special thanks to the reviewers who really motivate me to write everyday and give me great ideas to develop. You are **__**so** **appreciated**! _

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 28

Jackson Hunt found the crowd of onlookers at the crime scene very helpful with staying inconspicuous, but if he was right, there was someone else using the chess aficionados for the same purpose. 3XK was behind this killing, of that he was certain. He was also sure that this was a response to the pressure he had put on him and his pipeline of crazies over the last few weeks. The cat was finally in play.

As he watched Castle leave the scene with his two partners obviously shaken, Hunt entertained a qualm about the death of Henry Lowell, but it was fleeting; in Hunt's world collateral damage was a bitch, but not an unexpected one.

Profiling in a crowd wasn't as hard as one would think. There were always some onlookers who legitimately belonged at the scene, and given that most of the crowd was in possession of some sort of chess paraphernalia, they accounted for a large number of them. Then there were the usual "right place right timers" who truly just happened upon the scene and watched out of the kind of morbid fascination that has drivers slow down on the freeway when they pass an accident. And, of course, there were the ghouls who were attracted to crimes scenes like kids to an ice cream truck. These were the ones that Hunt was interested in. He didn't believe that Tyson himself was still here, but he was willing to bet that one of his flunkies was.

Tyson had shown his hand when he killed Henry Lowell. He had gone off the reservation with his choice of target totally warping his victim profile. This attack wasn't 3XK the serial killer with a mommy complex, this was Jerry Tyson adversary of Richard Castle, Kate Beckett and friends. This new focus of Tyson's, though necessary to his capture, had just upped the ante for everyone. Tyson was lashing out just like he had done when he shot Castle. A psychotic killer having a temper tantrum was certainly easier to find, but it also made him a hell of a lot more unpredictable and dangerous.

Lowell's body was loaded into a waiting van and the crowd began to disperse. Some leaving, while others broke into smaller groups to discuss what they had just seen. This was Hunt's moment and he didn't have to wait long, "Son of a bitch." Hunt slid in behind his ghoul, grabbed the back of his olive green hoodie, and spoke, "Hey hacker boy. Wanna play chess?"

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Kate felt confident about her talk with Gates. After she had gotten over her initial surprise, Gates had been open to hearing Kate's plan for returning after the case was over. She only hoped her conversation with Stack would go as smoothly.

Stack and the other two agents were staying in a low rent motel, but you wouldn't have known it from the setup inside. The room had been transformed into a command center that lacked for none of the highest tech toys.

"Agent Beckett," Stack greeted her distractedly as he looked over the information that just hit his screen.

Kate waited for his attention.

"It seems our friend Tyson is starting to devolve," Stack stepped over to her. "But I have no idea why. What could have possibly triggered this type of change?"

"Sir?" Kate had no idea what he was talking about.

"The murder in Central Park? Isn't that why you're here?" Stack asked perplexed.

Kate remembered the body drop, "Castle, Ryan and Espo caught that one. What happened?"

Stack didn't understand why she wouldn't have been put on the call, "Tyson used his usual methodology to take out a Henry Lowell at a chess park. The left turn is that the vic was a male in his forties."

Kate froze, "Did you say Henry Lowell?"

"Yes, why? You know him?"

"I have to find Castle," Kate reached for her phone.

"Do you know the victim?" Stack pressed her.

"Yeah, I do. He was the manager of The Haunt, Castle's bar," she selected his number with shaky hands.

"So this was another strike against Castle? What the hell did he do to piss him off this time?" Stack's question wasn't going to get an answer.

Kate knew exactly why Tyson had gone after Henry, it was retaliation for Jackson Hunt being in the game and she had no doubt; revenge for his more unorthodox tactics.

"Agent Beckett!" Stack was clearly frustrated with Kate's lack of focus on his questions.

Kate held up one finger to silence Stack. Castle's voicemail picked up and she disconnected, "It's Detective Beckett!" Kate's tone did more to silence Stack than her hand signal.

The two agents monitoring the smart boards pretended they weren't there; eyes and heads forward.

"Agent, I've been willing to give you some latitude because of how personal this case is for you, but we've reached the limits of that latitude," Stack was warning her and next came her consequence. "You're to head back to DC immediately. It was a mistake in judgment on my part to bring you back here."

"I'm not going back to DC," Kate met his gaze.

"That's an order Agent Beckett," his tone left no room for doubt about his intentions.

Neither did Kate's, "With all due respect Agent Stack, I came here to tell you that I am not going back to DC; ever. And if your order stands, then I resign right now."

Stack took in and released a deep calming breath allowing his frustration to go with it, "I see."

Kate let her defensiveness drop with his wanting him to understand her decision, "Do you remember when you warned me that going home again might not be all it was cracked up to be?"

"I do," Stack acknowledged.

"You said that things and people change without you knowing it," Kate reminded him. Tears welled in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them escape, "You were right about that part. Things did change and the people I love changed. But one thing I didn't count on was how coming back would change me."

Stack saw absolute certainty in Kate's face, "Coming back here opened my eyes to what I gave up with barely a moment's hesitation for a job. It held a mirror up to my actions that I couldn't ignore and I was forced to witness the consequences. And when I compared what I gained to what I lost, it didn't even come close. I realized that I could either take responsibility or run. I'm done running."

Stack knew iron resolve when he saw it, "Detective Beckett, you would have made an outstanding agent, but at the conclusion of this case, I will make your resignation official."

Kate nodded appreciatively and she thought she heard a little envy in his voice as they shook hands, "You know, going home again might not be all it's cracked up to be Agent Stack; but it just might be what makes what we do everyday worth it."

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Javi and Kevin didn't know what to do for Castle. He had insisted on calling Henry's family and informing them himself of his death. He still sat in an office with the door closed even though he had been off the phone for several minutes. Neither one knew what to say to him, so they paced the area around their desks hoping Castle would give them a clue what to do next.

"He needs Beckett," Javi said barely above a whisper.

Kevin swung around to argue, but then his face registered an understanding that Javi was right, "Call her."

"Where is he?" Beckett came running from the elevator toward them.

Javi moved to meet her, "He just called Lowell's mom and sister."

Kate assessed him through the glass, "What happened at the scene that I need to know."

Kevin spoke next, "We didn't know who it was until Lanie turned the body, so he was really caught off guard." He then explained the significance of the rook that Castle still clutched in his hand.

Kate's eyes never left Castle, "Did he have an episode?"

Javi interjected, "He seemed a little out of it and his breathing was out of whack, but we got him out of there as soon as we could and brought him back here."

"Beckett, help him," Kevin's expression was unguarded for the first time since she had returned.

Kate made eye contact with both of them, nodded and headed into the office.

Castle didn't react to her entering the room. Kate wasn't sure exactly what he needed from her so she sat down next to him and waited for some acknowledgement of her presence.

"Tyson targeted Henry because of my father," guilt dripped from every word.

"Tyson did this because he is panicking," Kate knew from experience that mitigating Castle's guilt was going to be no easy task. "Hunt has backed him into a corner and he is fighting back the only way he knows how; by killing."

"Henry had nothing to do with this," grief over the loss of his friend was settling in.

"Castle, look at me," Kate encouraged softly. "Every single victim of Tyson's, including you, is an innocent in all of this. No one asked to be part of his sick plans, but as fate would have it, we all got drawn in to this whirlpool he's generated."

Castle fell back into silence, "We're going to get him. He's broken pattern which means he's devolving and that means he is going to make a mistake. All it takes is one, Castle. Who knows, he may have already made it."

Kate glanced out the window at the boys. The look on her face didn't make them feel any better.

"I think I've overdone it again, Beckett. Will you take me to The Four Seasons?" Castle sounded like he was running on fumes.

Kate made sure that Castle didn't see the disappointment flicker across her face, "Anything you need."

With tremendous effort, Castle looked up at Kate and along with gratitude she saw the tangled web of emotions that he was trying to shoulder.

Javi and Kevin anticipated their departure and called for and held the elevator. "Get some rest, bro," Javi told him with the only words he could find.

Kevin echoed the sentiment as the elevator doors shut.

The ride to The Four Seasons was thankfully short. Kate moved Castle through the lobby and up to his suite as quickly as she could. Not recognizing the uniform at the door she flashed the badge on her hip, never releasing the steadying grip she had on him.

The uniform scanned the door open for them and she led him inside.

"Dad!" Alexis called jumping up from the couch.

"Richard!" Martha cried running to meet them.

All three women exchanged glances weighed down with varying emotions, but focused their attention on Castle, "What happened?" Alexis ripped apart the silence.

"Your dad over did it today and really needs to rest," Kate's words didn't match her facial expression.

Martha intervened, "Come along, Richard, I knew you were doing too much. Let's get you to bed. When is the last time you changed these bandages?"

Castle put up no resistance and allowed his mother to lead him into the suite's master bedroom. When the door shut behind them Alexis and Kate were left to face one another for the first time since the confrontation at the hospital.

Kate stood her ground and waited for whatever was coming; her running days behind her.

Alexis was stiff and uncomfortable, "Thank you for bringing him home."

Kate's emotions pretty much mirrored Alexis', "He asked me to bring him here."

"I figured," Alexis responded.

"Look, he had a pretty bad shock today," Kate felt that Alexis should know what happened in case things went wrong tonight.

Alexis was afraid of what was coming, "Your dad's bar manager was killed last night."

"Henry is dead?" Alexis' eyes filled with tears. "Was it Tyson?"

"Yes, it was," Kate hated having to do this.

"Oh, my god," Alexis broke down. "Is this ever going to be over? He keeps getting closer and closer every time."

Kate knew where her mind was going and she moved closer to her, but didn't touch her, "We are going to catch him and until we do, you and your grandmother are under NYPD protection."

"That didn't help dad. That man came into our home and shot my father with me and Gram right upstairs and a protection detail outside. He could have died while I was sleeping less than a hundred feet away," Alexis was sobbing.

Kate broke the barrier between them that the hospital conversation had put there and wrapped her arms around Alexis, "But he didn't and he's going to be okay. And I swear to you, Tyson's days on this earth are numbered."

Martha arrived in time to view the moment between Alexis and Kate. Her own emotions still a tumult regarding her feelings about the detective.

"Richard is out like the proverbial light," she forced an airy quality into her voice.

Alexis sensed that her grandmother and Kate had some unfinished business of their own, "I'm going to go and sit with him in case he wakes up."

Before she left the room Alexis had a last message for Kate, "Beckett, my dad's happiness is more important to me than my personal feelings about your relationship with him. I'm not backing down from what I said at the hospital. You've got some work to do to prove to me that you deserve him, and don't think for one minute, that I won't be right back in your face if you hurt him again."

Kate listened with genuine respect to the words of love from a daughter protecting her father, "Understood." Kate's response, though brief, relayed that respect to Alexis.

"Goodnight," she kissed her grandmother and was gone leaving Beckett and Martha to their unresolved issues.

"Martha, I…" Kate stumbled over her words not having any idea where to begin.

"I think this conversation could use a glass of wine, don't you?" Martha didn't wait for an answer; she just prepared them and delivered one to Kate.

"Katherine, from the beginning of your relationship with Richard, I identified with you; you are fearless, ambitious, strong and independent," Martha began. "I think it actually made me proud that he had finally involved himself with a woman who he deemed opposite of me."

Kate listened openly and without defensiveness.

"I've had a front row seat to the multi-act play that has been you and my son. And I have to admit that I have involved myself at times when it seemed that things were going the way of one of Shakespeare's tragedies," Martha paused and took a drink of her wine.

"I'm sure you were only trying to protect your son," Kate offered.

Martha laughed, "How I wish that were true, Katherine. The truth is that I took it upon myself to play devil's advocate more often than not. I was so desperate for him to see things from your perspective, but I realized after all of this that what I wanted him to see was my perspective. I wanted him to understand how the road less traveled could be the right road for some of us and how wrong it was for him to want to keep you from yours."

Kate was beginning to understand Martha's pain, "Your son adores you. He's the man he is because of you."

Martha's gaze softened, but her words cut, "Katherine, my son is the man he is in spite of me. Just like he has changed over the last four months into the man he is now in spite of you."

The words rang true and Kate felt an urge to end the conversation, keep her response to herself and flee back to the safety of her apartment, but she didn't, "Martha, I've made a lot mistakes with Rick over the last five years. But you should know, I'm in love with your son and if he'll let me, I'm going to spend the rest of my life proving it to him."

Martha smiled at Kate with sympathy and a touch of regret, "Some mistakes do irreparable damage." It was clear she wasn't just referring to Kate's.

The two women stood on equal ground fully aware of where each stood. In the ensuing silence an amicable truce was struck with the man they both loved as the fulcrum.

"He's been with you the last few nights?" Martha inquired.

Kate confirmed her suspicions, "He's been struggling with nightmares."

Martha's eyes fogged with tears, "Does he rest when you're with him?"

"Yes," Kate's answer was barely a whisper.

"Fine then, it's settled. I'll get you something to sleep in," Martha stated and left for her room.

Kate watched Martha go and then quietly entered the room where Castle was sleeping. Alexis was sitting next to him talking to him trying to sooth him. He was clearly immersed in a nightmare, and she was unable to wake him.

Alexis stood up and pleaded, "Kate, do something."

Kate took her spot next to him, "Castle, I'm here. It's okay." Kate took his hand and gently rubbed the path they knew so well. She continued to speak softly to him and without ever waking and after only a few moments, all tell-tale signs of the nightmare were gone.

At some point Martha had entered the room with things for Kate and had stood watching the scene unfold with Alexis' head resting on her shoulder.

In silent acknowledgement Alexis and Martha met Kate's gaze before leaving the room. Kate changed into the night clothes that Martha had brought her and crawled in bed beside him careful not to crowd him, but close enough that he wouldn't be able to doubt for even a moment that she was there.


	29. Chapter 29

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 29

It hadn't been difficult to get the teen hacker away from the crime scene. The gun in his ribs was a pretty good motivator to cooperate and Hunt's ruse as an angry father who had tracked down his wayward son discouraged anyone else from looking too closely at their exit.

"What the hell, man?" the boy called out as Hunt tossed him like a bag of garbage into the back of his van.

"Shut up moron," Hunt zip tied his hands and feet and had a strip of duct tape across his mouth before the kid could speak again.

Hunt needed a new plan. He had expected to find someone useful at the crime scene, but he had not expected it to be this kid. He wrestled with his own boundaries. How far was he willing to go? OffKilter was a kid, but he was a kid who had been given a free pass by Hunt the last time; and those were hard to come by. He eyed him in the rearview mirror. The boy had a wild eyed gaze; one you would see in a trapped animal desperate for escape. What he didn't see was plain old fear; and that changed everything.

The warehouse Jackson Hunt was using as his base of operations had been a slaughter house at one time. Though it had been sitting abandoned for more than a few years, Hunt could still pick up the tangy aroma of blood when he first walked in each and every time. With the van fully concealed inside, Hunt set the scene. He decided to use one of the small offices as his interrogation room. He blacked out all of the windows so he could control the amount of light. This would also allow him to keep Kilter from being able to determine the passage of time which could be very useful. He placed a single chair in the middle of the room directly under a high powered flood light he had connected to the fixture in the ceiling. After assessing the room, he decided that he was ready.

To keep the kid disoriented, Hunt placed a black hood over his head before he removed him from the van. There wasn't much fight in him and Hunt took him directly to the interrogation room. After using more zip ties to attach his arms and legs directly to the chair, Hunt pulled the hood from his head and ripped the tape from his mouth.

The kid yowled in pain, "Screw you, man." Hunt's tactics had worked. The kid was disoriented and he was scared. The light from above beat down directly on him, making it impossible for him to see anything or anyone in the room with him.

Hunt remained in the shadows allowing the room and silence to do its job. Hours passed; the kid trying to outlast him. Hunt didn't know if it was a good thing or not that the kid didn't know with whom he was dealing.

"That light's hot, man," the kid's voice was calm but revealed his discomfort.

Hunt waited.

The kid struggled against his bonds, "If you know what's good for you, man, you better let me go." His voice had taken on a new emotion that bordered on gutsy.

Hunt decided it was time, "Why would I do that when we have so much to talk about?"

"You'll be sorry," this was not the same kid Hunt had interrogated in his van not so long ago.

"Oh, really? How do you figure?" Hunt's plan was to let the kid give away what he knew all on his own.

"3XK will come for me and when he does, you'll be the one trapped and begging for mercy," venom dripped from every word, but the fear remained evident in his eyes.

Hunt stepped from the shadows, a five inch serrated gut hook knife in his hand. The hacker's eyes grew wide with terror as Hunt asked, "Now why would 3XK bother rescuing scum sucking vermin like you?"

The kid was unable to put a sentence together, but his eyes tracked the knife as Hunt drew nearer, "I think a better question to consider might be why you are still alive?"

The bravado came back, "He needs me. He couldn't do what he does without me." The kid was too blinded by his own hubris to realize what he had given away.

Hunt walked behind the boy where he couldn't see him, "So you two are a team? Besties?" Hunt shifted to the boy's profile and put his face right next to his and taunted him, "Is he your boyfriend? Are you two in love? We know how he feels about women."

"Fuck you! My bro…," he caught himself too late.

Hunt responded by cutting the flood light and kicking the chair over on its side. The crunching sound the kid made when he hit the floor covered Hunt's exit. Locking the door behind him, Hunt decided it was time to call in a little backup.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Kate awoke to find Castle still sleeping peacefully beside her. Sometime in the night, he had turned toward her and the space she had left between them had been all but erased. Her head was resting on his shoulder with both of his arms around her and her free arm was resting on his chest.

An insistent buzzing caught her attention. Her phone was beside her on the table. Then she remembered; the burner. Kate reluctantly disentangled from Castle, grabbed her bag and scrambled to find it before it stopped ringing.

"Beckett," she answered already anxious. Hunt didn't call unless it was important.

"I have a gift for you, detective," the voice she was coming to know pretty well announced.

Kate glanced back at Castle, he hadn't moved, "What might that be?"

Kate listened to Hunt's explanation about OffKilter's revealing utterance. He left out exactly how he got it.

"Things are about to get dicey, Kate. Before I hand him over to you, we need to put Martha, Alexis and Richard in a safe house," Hunt was insistent.

"I can set that up," Kate offered.

"No, I'll arrange the safe house and people I trust will protect them. I just need you to convince them to go without asking a whole lot of questions," Hunt didn't sound as though there was any room for argument.

"Martha and Alexis wont' be a problem, but Castle isn't going to go for it," Kate was certain of that.

"Then you are going to have to make him see that this is the way it has to be," Hunt challenged her.

Kate glanced back at Castle again and this time he was fully awake and watching her, "I'll do what I can."

"Once they're safe, I want you to perp walk this little shit in front of the media as a material witness in the Central Park murder," Hunt outlined Kate's role in his plan. "Don't reveal his relationship to 3XK to anyone except Richard. I want psycho to think he still has the upper hand and that we don't know who we have."

"I'll only be able to hold him for 48 hours without real evidence," Kate reminded him.

"That's all we'll need," Hunt sounded confident. "In three hours I'll call you and give you the meet location. I won't be there, but two of my people will be. They will give you the hacker trash and Alexis, Martha and Richard will go with them."

"How can I be sure it's the men you sent?" Kate wasn't taking any chances with 3XK in the mix.

"Have Richard ask them the name of the book I gave him when he was 10," Hunt was being necessarily vague.

"Got it," Kate assured him.

The line went dead and Kate dropped the cell back in her bag, "How much did you hear?"

Castle shifted stiffly in the bed to a position that didn't put stress on his chest, "Enough to know that we've finally gotten a break."

Kate crossed to the door and shut it completely. She then sat down next to him in the same spot she had been the night before, "You remember that hacker kid your dad rousted?"

Caste nodded, "Yeah, he put him on to that website."

"Turns out that he was at Henry's murder scene," Kate didn't know how else to tell Castle rather than straight out.

"My father was there?" Castle had half the picture.

"And so was this kid OffKilter," Kate confirmed. "Your dad did his thing and the kid slipped up," Kate didn't let her mind go where she would have to think about what his thing entailed.

Castles face was full of questions, "What did he say?"

"He's 3XK's little brother," Kate watched Castle's face for any signs of trouble, but all she saw was excitement.

"This changes everything. We have someone he cares about. Where is he now, the kid?" Castle wanted to know.

"Your dad has him," Kate paused before continuing, "He wants to make a trade in three hours."

"A trade?"

Kate braced herself, "He wants to arrange for a safe house using his resources and people for Martha, Alexis," she paused briefly, "and you."

Kate saw what she expected, "I'm not going to any safe house, Kate."

"I tried to tell him that," Kate reassured him.

Castle got out of the bed on the opposite side, "But I do think it's a good idea for my mother and Alexis."

"Castle, you're bleeding," Kate's eyes were glued to the blood splotches soaking through his bandages and his shirt.

Castle waved her concern away, "I'm going to shower and then I need you to help me convince my mother and Alexis to go to a safe house with total strangers without an explanation."

Kate watched Castle head into the bathroom hoping that the truce forged the night before was still intact and that she would actually be some help convincing two strong willed women that this was the right move.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

3XK kept checking his cell. He hadn't heard from his brother in over twelve hours. He never stayed out of touch more than twelve hours; that was their agreement. This meant that something had gone very wrong. In desperation, he dialed the number again; it went directly to voicemail. He tried to track it through GPS, but it was completely off the grid.

Panic was an emotion that 3XK knew could be disastrous if he let it get the best of him. He had to calm himself down and think. He needed a plan, but first he had to find his brother.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Kate and Castle hit the living room at about the same time. They made reassuring eye contact they way they did when preparing for an interrogation as they headed to Martha and Alexis who were in the kitchen area of the suite making breakfast and coffee.

"Richard, you look refreshed this morning," Martha announced handing him a cup of coffee.

"Thank you, mother, I feel better," Castle hazarded another quick glance at Kate.

Martha handed Kate a cup of her own, "Thank you, Martha."

Martha genuinely smiled and nodded at her demonstrating that their truce from the night before still held, "Alexis and I thought we might get out a bit today, Richard. We've been cooped up for days."

Alexis concurred, "Dad, we're going stir crazy."

Castle kissed Alexis on the forehead, "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but that's not going to be possible."

Martha and Alexis made matching disappointed faces, "Richard, seriously? How long are we going to be held captive?"

Castle snapped, "Until he's dead, Mother!"

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence, "Martha, Alexis, there were some developments over night that may help bring this to an end sooner than we had hoped."

Alexis let hope show on her face and in her voice, "Really?"

Kate nodded, "Yes, but until that happens, we have to be on our guard and do whatever it takes to keep everyone safe."

Martha knew something was up, "Richard? There's something you're not telling us."

"I need you two to do something for me," Castle took the tactic that he thought would give him the highest probability for success.

Kate held back and let Castle deal with his family, "This break in the case is going to force Tyson into making a move and since I can't predict what that move will be; I need to be sure that you two are out of harm's way."

"Dad, what are you talking about?" Alexis looked fearful.

Castle tagged Kate in with a look, "It means that we want to move the two of you to a safe house."

"A safe house? Isn't that what this is supposed to be?" Martha was responding as expected.

"I can guarantee you that 3XK knows exactly where we all are right now," Castle didn't want to frighten her further, but he had to get her to see how important this was.

"This safe house would ensure that he not only can't get to where you are because you are under protection, but that he doesn't even know where you are to try," Kate tried explaining in a way that would hopefully make them feel safer than they did where they were.

Alexis jumped in, "So at this new safe house, he wouldn't be able to find us?"

"Exactly, sweetheart," Castle affirmed for her.

Martha was still resisting, "Everywhere we have been, this man has found a way to get to us."

"We think he either has a mole in the NYPD or he has found a way to hack into our files. That's why this safe house will not be known to the police department," Kate added to try and help them accept the plan.

"I have some connections with other agencies, and they will be the ones keeping you safe," Castle revealed only what he had to.

Martha looked highly circumspect of the plan, but the look on Alexis' face when she asked about being off Tyson's radar completely convinced her that this was something she needed to do for her granddaughter.

"Alright, Richard, when do we leave for this safe place?" Martha relented and she knew she had done the right thing when she saw the relief wash over Alexis.

"We will meet up with the men who will take you to an undisclosed location in two hours. Pack everything. We won't be coming back here," Castle directed them.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

The handoff went like clockwork. Kate had custody of 3XK's brother and Martha and Alexis were on their way to someplace out of reach leaving Castle and Beckett to focus on the task at hand; ending Jerry Tyson.

When they shoved him in the back of Beckett's squad with Castle, the kid's hands were zip tied behind his back; he had a black hood over his face and large headphones over his ears playing Skrillex's Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites over and over. Kate guessed it was a way Hunt could torture the kid and not leave a mark.

Kate had arranged to take the kid through the front doors of the precinct with as large a uniform presence as she could muster and Castle had contacted every news outlet where he had connections to be sure that it would be the spectacle Hunt wanted.

A block from the station, Castle removed the headphones and the hood. The kid jerked his head violently like that was going to help anything, "My civil rights have been violated. I want a lawyer," the kid spouted his cop TV rhetoric. Then he noticed Beckett, "You're that bitch cop!"

Castle hauled off and hit him in the mouth with as much force as he could with his right fist, "Shut the hell up." Castle grabbed his chest afterward, but it had been worth it and the kid shut up.

Kate had been watching in the rearview mirror, "You okay?"

"Never better," he told her shaking the sting out of his hand and flashing a Castle grin.

As expected the entrance to the precinct was mayhem. It looked as though every media outlet in the city had shown up. Kate glanced one more time in the rearview admitting to herself that having a famous mystery novelist on hand at times like these paid dividends. Kate got out and opened the back door, pulling the kid from the car. Castle took his time coming around from the other side wanting to give the camera crews plenty of film.

"Detective Beckett! Is he a suspect in the Central Park murder?" one reporter yelled from the crowd.

"I have a source that says the Central Park murder was one of 3XK's. Can you comment on that, Detective?" a reporter who was right in front of Kate asked.

Kate held the kid right beside her making sure they had a clear shot of his face, "At this time, he is considered a material witness in the Central Park murder. I have no further comment."

Kate was joined by Espo and Ryan who helped her push through the crowd and get the kid inside. The reporters then turned their attention to Castle.

"Mr. Castle, is it true that 3XK was your shooter?"

"You haven't been seen at your loft in days, is there a reason for that, Mr. Castle?"

"How do you feel about this witness being a possible link to 3XK?"

"Henry Lowell had a record Mr. Castle; do you think that had anything to do with his murder?"

Castle had been letting their questions go in one ear and out the other until the last one. He had made it to the door, but he stopped and faced the onslaught of reporters, "Henry Lowell was a decent hard working man that I consider my friend. The coward who took his life…" Castle paused and he looked directly into the nearest camera, "his turn's coming."

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Somewhere across the city, 3XK was watching the scene at the precinct unfold on multiple monitors; his anger far outweighing his panic. He froze the screens. Richard Castle's face looked back at him on every single one.

"I should have finished you when I had the chance! I'm coming for you! I'm fucking coming for you!"


	30. Chapter 30

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 30

The minute that Castle managed to get through the press into the precinct doors the kid started yelping, "Richard Castle assaulted me in the back of the squad car. I want to file charges. I want him arrested."

Gates was standing at the end of the hallway and Ryan and Espo stopped in front of her; each of them holding on to an arm in case he decided to bolt, "Did anyone see Mr. Castle strike this suspect?"

Kate used her pointer finger to draw air circles around her ear, "I have no idea what Mr. Kilter is talking about, Sir."

"Good enough for me," she announced, "We're going to need that hoodie, Mr. Off.. umm.. Mr. Kil… uhh… young man."

Espo and Ryan were more than happy to assist him in removing his sweatshirt; then two uniforms came and took custody of the kid.

Kate looked at Espo and Ryan, "You ready?"

"Damn right," Espo responded with fist bumps all around and Ryan nodded his agreement. Even with the positive energy, the team exchanged knowing looks. With any luck, they would all drink to it later.

As Kate and Castle watched the boys walk away, the burner rang. Kate pulled it out of her pocket and handed it to Castle watching Espo and Ryan until they disappeared from view.

Gates wanted to be looped in with "need to know" information only to maintain the plausible deniability she favored, so she followed Espo and Ryan to ensure the next part of the plan went off like it was supposed to.

"Castle."

Hunt was glad to hear his son's voice, "Richard, what's the status?"

"Green," he answered briefly as they had been instructed.

"Excellent," Hunt sounded pleased. "I am going to text you an address. It is a safe house for you and Kate for the night. Understood?"

Castle glanced at Kate who was now the only other person in the hallway with him, "With the others?"

Hunt understood that he was asking about Alexis and Martha, "Negative, too risky. Unwilling to compromise. Both packages are secure."

"Understood," Castle had so many questions, but he kept them to himself and settled for the rush of relief at knowing his girls were safe.

"Do not contact anyone, turn your cell phones off before you leave the precinct, and if you stop anywhere on the way, do not use anything other than cash and avoid video cameras," Castle was thinking that this part of the conversation was unnecessary; he was, after all, a successful mystery writer.

"Richard?"

"Yes, I'm here."

"This is really important. Do not take any police vehicle away from the precinct. Take the subway at least three stops, hop another train for several more and then you can get a cab. Exit the cab at least five blocks from your destination and be sure you are not being followed before you finally arrive. The key is already on your ring. When we get off the phone, power this burner down, take out the battery and destroy the SIM card and throw the pieces away at different stops on the subway."

"How will you reach us?" Castle had lost his flippant spy savvy attitude after finding a key he didn't recognize was indeed on his ring.

"There is a new burner for you underneath the front seat of Kate's unit. Do not turn it on until you have disposed of all of the pieces to this one. Do you understand, Richard?" Hunt's tone didn't allow for any sugar coating.

"Yes, I understand," Castle absorbed the urgency and the warning in his father's voice.

"Do not use the burner unless it is an emergency and only to call me. There won't be a number for you to dial, so if you have to use it, just push last call," Hunt detailed.

"Got it," Castle assured him.

"Now go," Hunt ended the call.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Jackson Hunt felt like he had a pretty solid grasp of Jerry Tyson vengeful nut bag, so the next part of his plan was intended to exploit that profile. First and foremost, Tyson would want to see if he could mitigate the situation with his brother quickly before the cops found out who they really had in custody because he was, after all, a malignant narcissist and protecting himself would always come first.

With his brother in custody, Tyson's tech capabilities had been greatly compromised; the kid himself had said as much. Hunt had pieced together his own tech team and put them in play in a city utilities truck down the block from the precinct. He had called in just about every marker that he had to bring together the man and machine power to pull off his plan. The targets his actions had painted on his son and Kate Beckett could be seen from fucking space; there was absolutely no room for error.

Tyson was going to get tech intel, but it was going to be fed to him by Hunt's expert hackers who made OffKilter look like a novice. He would only have the information Hunt wanted him to get giving his Plan A the chance to bring him down. This plan kept Richard and Beckett completely out of the equation and that was best case scenario since there was no doubt in Hunt's mind that Tyson would kill them both the first chance he got.

"We have an attempted breach," announced one of four men from the truck dressed completely in black and monitoring multiple screens.

"Open the feed," Hunt ordered.

"Roger that," came the practiced military response.

Hunt stood back and watched the monitors clear from static revealing Ryan and Espo relieving Gates and two uniforms of the hoodied hacker kid and quickly ushering him out the back entrance of the precinct and into a waiting car. "Shut him down!" Hunt ordered.

The screens jumped and faded in and out as though they were being secured from within the precinct from the outside hack.

"Do you think it was him, sir?"

Hunt stood with arms crossed over his chest, "It was him."

"Should we try for an IP address, sir?"

"You can try, but you're probably going to find that he's bounced his signal around the world about seventeen times," Hunt kept staring at the screens.

"Bring up the holding cell video," Hunt ordered.

"Yes, sir," a quad of voices responded.

The holding cell camera came into focus and Hunt watched with a satisfied smirk as the real OffKilter paced his 8X8 cell in homicide at the 12th precinct, "Get used to it, shithead."

Hunt was already thinking ahead to the next part of his plan, "Let's move!"

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Tyson repeatedly played the video he'd managed to snag before the PD geeks closed his hack. This repetition helped him generate his plan. He had to give Beckett and Castle credit; it was smart not keeping his brother at the 12th when Tyson had so easily infiltrated it in the past. That small acknowledgment was all they would be getting because they had taken his brother away in an unmarked GPS enable unit. After some scrubbing of the video, Tyson had been able to get the license number of the vehicle making it an inevitability that this little detour in his plans would be a memory by night's end and Beckett and Castle would have two more funerals to attend.

Efficiently remedying the situation his brother's carelessness had created would free Tyson to conclude his game with Castle and Beckett. One reason 3XK had been such a prolific serial killer was that he knew when it was time to move on to new hunting grounds.

Tyson hadn't decided what the best end game would be yet. Killing Castle would bring the most immediate satisfaction. It would effectively destroy Kate Beckett since there was no doubt about her feelings for him. Castle had ruined so many of his plans; if only he had put a bullet in him that night in the motel. And Tyson was sure the man who had taken his brother was someone connected to him. It might even be possible to get the identity of the man from Castle before allowing him the release of dying; killing two birds with one stone as it were. Even if he couldn't figure out who the man was, Tyson knew how to disappear and that would take care of that problem.

Then there was the extraordinary Kate Beckett. There was a definite allure to kill her. Killing women was satisfying on a level that defied attempts at explanation. Though Kate didn't meet his usual physical type, he had the feeling that this might be his most satisfying kill ever. He closed his eyes and imagined watching the light go out of her eyes and then observing how Castle's guilt over her death would unwind him and his destruction would be protracted and eviscerating to the point where he would wish he were dead.

Tyson was jerked from his imaginings when the computer announced a location match to his GPS search for the unit that had taken his brother from the precinct. In his elated state he voiced a new plan that just popped into his mind, "Maybe I'll just kill them in front of one another." For the first time all day, 3XK showed himself.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Castle grimaced as he sat at the kitchen table with his shirt off peeling away medical tape and bloody gauze from his chest wound. He was no doctor, but he knew when something didn't look right, and well, this didn't look right. He scrounged in his bag for a Vicodin and chased two with wine from the bottle he had just opened. Redressing would have to wait until the booze boosted meds kicked in.

In his hand, he held the rook from Henry's crime scene and he rolled it between his fingers forcing his unsound mind to grapple with everything it represented.

Kate stepped into the dimly lit room freshly showered wearing one of Castle's shirts. Her hair was loose and damp on the ends framing her face with wisps of curl. Her essence reached him before she ever got near him. As a matter of course, he slowed his breathing and deepened it as he has so many nights in their shared past. Taking her in and making her a part of him.

Kate's eyes never left Castle after they found him, "Let me."

All he could do was watch her. She dug fresh gauze, cotton balls, tape, antibiotic cream and peroxide from the bag on the table with movements that were deliberate, yet overwhelmingly gentle. Kate's eyes tracked his; they were fixated on her. She subconsciously bit her lower lip, he reached for her. She submitted and found herself straddling him; Castle's hands holding her by the waist, his eyes still rending through her. The peroxide was cool on his chest as Kate took her time ensuring that each area was properly washed and patted dry.

Castle's eyes fell to the opening of Kate's shirt. He reached out and touched her scar while she delicately tended to what in time would be his. She covered his hand with her own and held it briefly. There had been so many words between them lately; but this silence was more cogent than any lament or diatribe.

The three little words that had stood between them for so many years were there now, but one felt no right to them and the other hadn't found a way past the fear.

When she finished, Kate drank from Castle's wine glass. His hands had returned to her waist. She didn't move away from them. She ran her hands up his forearms and biceps to his shoulders. Kate allowed him to look into her eyes without reservation. She was open to him; waiting for him. And she would continue to wait; _always_.

Castle's voice was as soft as she had ever heard it, but it sounded incredibly loud when it destroyed the silence, "What are you supposed to do when you're desperately in love with someone, but you know they're only going to break your heart?"

Kate's eyes never broke from his, a sign she wasn't hiding, "You have faith." Kate gently stroked his cheek.

A glimmer of light shone from his eyes, "Faith?"

"Someone once told me that you have to have faith; that without it there's no chance for magic. And if you don't believe in at least the possibility of magic, you'll never find it," Castle's words from what felt like so long ago had been made her own.

Kate could see the doubt in him, "What makes now different than when you left?"

Castle's question was one that Kate had been waiting for a chance to answer, "When I came to your door that night in the storm, I had finally surrendered. I could no longer fight my feelings because I was worn down by my desire for you and yours for me. I had reached a point where I was more frightened of what it would mean to lose you than the possibility of us failing."

Castle's hands tightened on her waist, "And now?"

Kate's face was a juxtaposition of emotion. Tears fell from her eyes, yet she was smiling at him, "This time I simply surrender, Rick; to all of it. I don't need to know what we are. I don't need to know where we are going to be in five years. I just need to know that it's you and me; always."

Kate could see Castle struggling with what she had told him. She didn't need him to say anything back. It was enough that he had heard her; and she would tell him again and again until no doubt remained.


	31. Chapter 31

_**Shout out to fellow Ficathon writer GoogleKnowsUs –Author of the entry Exigency (be sure to check it out if you haven't already) - Gave Decisions and Dominoes a rec in the intro to Chapter 20 of their own story – What a classy,cool move. From one word wrangler to another; I am humbled. **_

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 31

Agent Stack barreling from the elevator with two agents in tow and heading straight for Gates' office came as a surprise to everyone in homicide except Gates herself. She stood up from her desk, put on her jacket, met them at her door and ushered them in.

"Agent Stack, have a seat," the captain offered not expecting him to take her up on it.

"What the hell was that all about?" Stack demanded.

"What was what about?" Gates feigned ignorance.

Stack eyed her taking a moment to think before he spoke, "That zoo of a press conference!"

"We had a material witness from the park scene. The press somehow got wind of it and they were here when we brought him in," Gates was very convincing. "Happens all the time."

"Exactly who is this witness and why was I not informed?" Stack questioned.

"We're not certain. He was behaving strangely at the scene, so we decided to detain him," plausible deniability was a wonderful thing. "I was just about to pick up the phone and call you."

Stack was absolutely certain that there was more going on here than he was being told, "Where is Agent Beckett?"

"Detective Beckett is following up a lead with Mr. Castle," Gates met his gaze and challenge with arms across her chest.

"She's not answering her phone," Stack informed her reading her body language with no issue.

"Maybe she's busy with that lead," Gates defended.

"Maybe she is," Stack knew this was going nowhere. "If something else comes up, I would appreciate being notified at your earliest convenience."

Gates opened the door to her office, "That goes without saying." Gates smile remained long after Stack and his crew disappeared into the elevator.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Jackson Hunt had some critical decisions to make. If he made the wrong one, someone he cared about could end up dead. He decided to split up the four assets he had remaining to cover separate locations. One pair would remain at the precinct to ensure that the real OffKilter would remain on ice and the other two would cover the safe house where he had sent Castle and Kate. The men covering Alexis and Martha would have to stay where they were leaving Hunt, Ryan and Esposito as a three man team to cover the location that Hunt believed would be Tyson's most likely target. Hunt had been chasing unhinged individuals his entire adult life; the last thing you ever wanted to do was underestimate them by leaving any possible target unprotected.

Hunt was confident in his profile of Tyson and his alter ego 3XK. What happened next all depended on which one put in an appearance. Hunt was operating on gut instinct, years of experience and his ability to think like his mark. Since both profiles included the psychopathy of someone who engages exclusively in exploitative interpersonal relations, needs constant admiration while avoiding intimacy, and exhibits a complete lack of empathy for others; Hunt was wagering that the focus of his plan would be his brother no matter who showed up to the party.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Ryan and Esposito were running on adrenaline. The auto repair shop they found themselves in was a single room building with limited windows and only one way in or out if you didn't count the triple garage style bay doors that allowed the entry and exit of the autos themselves. The shop was empty of cars other than their own and the only light available came from a bare 60 watt bulb dangling from a frayed cord that plugged into the ceiling and swayed slightly in the breeze provided by a grease encrusted free-standing oscillating fan in the corner of the room.

As Espo finished covering the glass in the top tract of the bay doors with several layers of newspaper, he noted the complete lack of occupied structures around theirs. Meanwhile, Ryan set up the chair with their bait. He strapped his arms and legs firmly to the chair with zip ties and made sure the hoodie was pulled up where a clear shot of his face couldn't been seen through the window that was behind it. Ryan absently reached up to adjust the blind that hung halfway across it.

"Don't touch the blind," Espo snapped, "Hunt's message said to leave everything as we found it except the windows I just covered."

"Gee, down boy," Kevin muttered leaving the blind untouched. Espo nodded affirmatively.

Kevin crossed to the only regular door and checked it again, the deadbolt was in place. He then flashed a confirming gaze at Espo who picked up the two-way that had been left in the room for them before they arrived and reported, "We're green."

"10-4," and some static was the only response they received.

"Bro, remember to stay within the chalked area. Tyson will be able to see us, but not well enough to take an easy shot," Espo knew this wasn't just another day in paradise.

Kevin nervously eyed the recently drawn red chalk lines on the floor that were also there when they arrived, "Yeah, okay."

"You think Hunt is right about all this?" Espo continued his train of thought.

"Do I think Tyson will show up here, try to kill us and get his brother back?" Kevin fleshed out Espo's vague inquiry.

Espo just stared at him, "That night in the motel when he flipped his crazy switch after Castle figured out who he was, I realized something."

Espo, ever vigilant, monitored the window while he listened, "What was that, bro?"

"That evil really does exist, Javi," there was darkness in his voice, "I've dealt with a lot of A-holes and nut bars, but this guy; he's pure evil."

"Is that a yes?" Espo couldn't help himself and Ryan rewarded him with a grin that chased away the dark.

Espo found it easy to settle into the quiet that being mission ready provided, but he could see it wasn't the same for Ryan, "Beckett being back is kinda weird."

Relief charged Ryan and he started pacing to work off some nervous energy while being careful to stay within the chalk lines, "Yeah, her showing up like that sort of brought up some stuff."

"What sort of stuff?" Espo kept the conversation going for Ryan.

Kevin checked that the safety was off on his sidearm and a bullet in the chamber for something to focus on, "Well, you and Kate understand each other, you know? You're alike. Until Castle came along, I didn't have that in a friend."

"I get it, bro," oddly, he really did.

"When she left for DC, it took a while for me to figure out how to help him," Ryan admitted.

"He wasn't exactly a chatterbox after she left," Espo confirmed. "And if you recall, I heard about her big move when you did." Espo's face soured, "So much for the benefits of "understanding" each other."

"I never expected Castle to man up and hitch himself to us," Ryan admitted.

"I thought he'd pull a Beckett and disappear," honestly Espo had been shocked when he hadn't.

Kevin looked troubled, "Now she's back."

"And she wants him back," of that Espo had no doubt.

Kevin's face contorted with memory, "Javi, when I was trying to keep Castle from bleeding out that night, I blamed her. I blamed her for not having his back; for leaving him here alone to face Tyson."

Espo felt his partner's conflict, "We all thought Tyson was dead."

Kevin shirked off Espo's defense of Kate, "Castle, didn't. He never believed that."

Espo knew he couldn't counter that, so he asked, "What is it that Castle says, bro, about the heart?"

Kevin looked amused, "The heart wants what the heart wants."

"Ain't that the truth?" Espo had a sudden thought, "Were you really on board with that thing with McMurphy?"

"Honestly, it was hard to get past the creepy Beckett thing," Ryan's mood lifted thinking about it.

Espo gave Ryan an exaggerated expression of agreement and a fist bump as the first and second bullets to enter the room disintegrated the glass in the window before they embedded themselves into their intended victim. The force of the shots sent the chair and target slamming to the ground. Before Ryan could pull his weapon free of his holster a third shot found its mark in his right side sending him sprawling. Espo, whose weapon had been in his hand, dove toward Ryan while unloading his clip through the window and into the darkness. He took one to the upper abdomen for his efforts.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

At the exact same moment that he put the first two shots into his idiot brother, 3XK's computer counted down the final three seconds of a program that would set off a chain of flash bang grenades around the perimeter of the garage causing problems for Castle's avenger long enough for him to make his escape. The moment he dropped Esposito, they blew.

3XK was euphoric. A loose end had been neatly tied off; he had left a bloody greeting for Castle and Beckett and now his end game could truly begin. It just didn't get any better.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Hunt crashed through the dead bolted door of the garage as the last of the string of explosives went off behind him, "Stay down," he ordered crawling toward them.

"Hunt?" Espo croaked as he tried to get the air that had been knocked out of him back in.

"You two okay?" Hunt barked reaching Kevin first.

"Hey, you sort of look like Castle," Kevin coughed and gasped as he moved clear of the window still reeling in pain.

"I think you mean he looks like me," Hunt corrected wryly realizing they weren't in any immediate danger of dying.

Kevin grinned at Hunt as he ripped off his shirt and pulled off the Kevlar vest he had on underneath.

"Son of a bitch that hurts," Espo copied Kevin's strip down.

Kevin studied the flattened projectile he dug out of his vest, "What the hell happened out there?"

"I cleared the perimeter before I went to the precinct. I guess he must have set it up between the time you guys got here and I got back. He had the computer program ready. All he had to do was drop the explosives where he wanted them. It would have only taken a couple of minutes."

Both men inspected the impact sites on their bodies knowing they were going to get far worse before they got better, "So does that mean we're back to square one?"

Hunt smiled confidently at Espo, "No, just plan B."

Once he was sure that Tyson was long gone and that Espo and Ryan were not in need of medical help, Hunt set about collecting the pin hole cameras he had embedded in the walls and the microphone that was secured in the swinging light bulb.

"You were recording us?" Kevin's mind skipped back to his conversation with Espo prior to the shooting. Espo's face revealed that he was thinking about the same thing.

Hunt didn't stop working but answered, "Yep, the feed went directly back to my tech unit. Besides, how else am I going to convince little brother that big brother just tried to kill him?"

Everyone was on their feet. Ryan and Espo had put their shirts back on with the Kevlar back on top to hide their individual bullet hole. Kevin winced, "I think I cracked a rib."

"Don't be a little girl," Espo teased while wondering if he had internal bleeding.

As they were heading out the door, Hunt asked indicating the body still tied to the chair, "What about him?"

"You almost let me forget the dummy, dummy!" Espo accused Ryan. "Lanie would have my ass if I didn't bring it back."

As Ryan cut the zip ties freeing the medical training manikin from his bonds he teased, "Doesn't she have your ass anyway? Like in a sling somewhere?"

Espo glared at him as he picked up one side of the manikin, "Damn, she's gonna be pissed about the two holes in his back."

"Dude, show her where you got hit first and maybe she won't be as pissed," Ryan was more than half serious.

"You think that'll work?" Espo asked dragging his half of the downed dummy toward the door.

"Nah, bro, you're toast," Kevin had to be honest.

Espo seemed to accept Kevin's prophecy, "Hey, you think that ass clown hacker kid is gonna want his hoodie back now?" Both men broke into laughter.

As Hunt observed the easy banter between two of his son's closest friends, he couldn't help but see the value in what Castle had built with his work family. The one thing Hunt had given up to do what he does was relationships; and it would appear; ironically, that was the one thing his son valued most.


	32. Chapter 32

_**This scene content is not my forte – but I put my best into it. – See you on the other side –K**_

_**Reviews appreciated… **_

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 32

Kate couldn't sleep; at least not next to him. Her body had advanced from the stage of longing that merely reflected want to one where she was battling intensive need. Their interlude in the kitchen had stayed with her when she drifted to sleep with him and invaded her subconscious. The dream was vivid and agonizing in its pleasure. In it Castle's hands on her waist had been used to pull her fully on to his lap. They had then found their way to the buttons on _**his**_ shirt; it slipping freely from her shoulders. Her hands had gone to his face and hair as he pulled her mouth to his own; eyes anchored to one another's gaze. Kate's lips had opened to his; his hands raking across her back pulling her chest tightly against his. Their breathing labored; the moment precarious, Kate met his every move with one that reassured and encouraged his own. Searching his face, she saw none of the doubts that plagued their conscious intimacy. She had awakened from it in the instant before he would have taken her; sweating and gasping for air she had to put some physical space between them.

Castle was sleeping deeply and though his eyes were moving behind his lids, she knew he wasn't in the throes of a nightmare. He was dreaming; maybe one similar to her own. Kate's hands were shaking as she looked at him; her dream of them now a part of her consciousness.

The wine bottle and Castle's glass were on the table where they had left them when they went to bed. Kate refilled the glass more than half full, gulping down three large swallows trying to quell the smoldering demands her body was making. Glass in hand, Kate returned to the bedroom to ensure that Castle's sleep was still just that. As she looked at him the intense heat generated by her dream collided with her love for him; the impact jarring. She retreated to the other room, not to run from what she was feeling, but so she could examine it.

Men had always played a role in Kate's life, but that role had always been self-defining. She decided when relationships began, the duration, and even when and how most ended. Kate had become adept at getting what she needed from her relationships with men allowing only what she was equipped to give to be taken. She had cared for and loved many of the men that she had taken into her bed, but the enterprise of being in love had only found her once. The difference between loving someone and being in love with them was that constituent that made exactly what you were feeling unquantifiable, yet invaluable. When Kate had transitioned somewhere along their journey together from just loving Rick to being in love with him, she had found herself in an unfamiliar and exotic venue replete with anomalous risk and uncertainty causing her to behave in ways that were counterproductive and self sabotaging.

Castle had come into her life like a tornado dropping out of a Texas sky in April; unexpectedly, powerfully and without intent to do anything other than wreak some havoc and disappear; or so she thought. After only a few months, she acknowledged, at least to herself, that he is so much more; a force that demands that she is on her game every day. He challenged her from moment one, but had her back too; exasperating one moment and indispensable the next. She had discovered layers to him that she had no idea existed at first glance; an amazing dad and son, an intensely loyal friend, a romantic ardent lover, a fatherless boy who never quite lost his love of play. And of them all; the layer that truly transformed Kate was Castle's capacity to not only ascertain silver linings on dark days, but the capacity to generate them when all seemed lost.

"Beckett," Castle was standing in the doorway of the bedroom.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" Kate asked softly her mind still wrapped up in thoughts of him.

"Looking for you," he moved from the doorway toward where she stood leaning against the far wall staring out the window where she could see, but not be seen.

She took another drink of her wine watching him cross to her; shirtless with only the bottoms to his pajamas on. He stopped in front of her; he was impossibly close.

Her free hand started to reach out and caress his chest, but she checked herself, "Did you have a nightmare?"

He didn't speak, but shook his head. His breathing was deep and becoming more rapid.

Kate was apprehensive wondering if he was actually in an episode, "Hey, are you here with me?" Kate's back was against the wall and with only inches separating them, she was afraid he would startle if she moved away so she put a hand gently on his shoulder.

"Castle?" Kate tried to determine his level of awareness by getting him to answer her. His face was a puzzle of emotion; his eyes were on her but she couldn't see into them.

She let her finger tip run the line of his jaw, "Rick, can you hear me?"

Castle's hands rested on Kate's hips, but rather than pull her to him, he pushed her back against the wall and pressed the full length of his body against hers. The wine glass slipped from her hand, didn't break, but rolled away from them.

Kate rested both of her hands on Rick's chest trying to get an angle on his eyes; she still wasn't quite sure who or what she was dealing with. He responded by grabbing her wrists and moving them to her sides, "Please look at me."

The feel of his body against hers wiped out whatever progress the distance and wine had made in silencing the physical ache she had to be with him, "Castle, please."

When he did finally look at her, the intensity of his stare riveted her, "I'm here. I'll always be here."

Still holding her motionless against the wall with his body and her wrists trapped at her sides, Castle's lips found Kate's. Still watching one another, Kate kissed him back; receiving him with hunger.

The first few kisses defied their tension wrought bodies; softly probing. Kate tried to wrest her hands free from his grip, but Castle had her completely under his control. His kiss became deeper and more demanding; she gently sucked his lower lip. He groaned and released her wrists pulling away just far enough to grasp the front of her shirt and rip it open; the buttons ricocheting as they hit the wall and floor.

Castle seized on Kate's throat intermittently kissing, licking and sucking the areas that stirred her; he could feel the pounding of her heart with his mouth. Kate rewarded him with a guttural moan and a whispered, "Castle." Her hands now free, traveled over him; running through his hair, scraping his muscled back and caressing broad shoulders. They were skin to skin for the first time in almost five months; it felt like it had been years.

Castle finally spoke hissing between clenched teeth, "I need you. I need you now."

"Rick," Kate breathed into his neck pressing forward against him in answer. His response was immediate and definitive. He lifted her higher on the wall and shoved her hard against it pulling her legs up around his waist where she locked on to him. The moment he was inside her the barrier between them disintegrated as though it had been made of air and not pain, betrayal and loss. Like a house of cards, any residual resistance either one had to the other collapsed; their appetites colliding leaving no place for reason or thoughts of consequences.

Kate wrapped her arms tightly around Rick's neck holding on to him with one hand while snarling her hand in his hair with the other. The rhythm they had developed over their year together was instantaneously present and driving them further toward that place and moment that only they could reach together.

Time didn't stand still; it bolted forward. They were in constant motion; reacquainting themselves with the body decision had denied them. They reached the pinnacle and fell over the other side together and individually; each time no less intense than the last; neither near being satiated, but both trying to catch their breath from exertion.

"You're bleeding through your bandages," Kate managed to say between labored breaths.

"I don't care," he answered releasing her from the wall, but holding on to her hands so he could take her with him to the couch. She followed willingly. When he was prone, he made room for Kate beside him and pulled her down into his waiting arms. Castle dragged the blanket that was draped across the back of the couch across both of them.

"This isn't over," he spoke into her hair while breathing in her sweat and the mingled scent of their sex. Kate looked up into his face and found that he was already fast asleep.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Kate shivered inwardly trying to warm herself as she struggled to rouse to being fully awake. A soft moan distracted her, "Rick," she whispered softly as the memory of the last few hours washed over her while trying to find the blanket that had somehow slipped away. As her eyes focused in the still middle of the night darkened room, the outline of Castle's body drew her eye. Her pulse quickened and her desire for him urged her forward. Kate could still feel him moving against her and with her against the wall. Tangled images ran amok in her sex logged brain: Rick tearing open her shirt, feeling how ready he had been for her, unable to suppress his need; he had surrendered. It amazed Kate how their bodies behaved as if no time had passed, no dominoes had fallen, no hearts had broken. Kate followed her hand as she ran her fingertips gently down Castle's bare middle and even further down past his abdomen and across his thigh. "I'm in love with you, Castle," Kate's voice trembled even though it was only a whisper. She struggled to steady it. Castle's eyes opened looking directly into hers.

"Do you remember what I told you earlier?" Rick's tone held a grin Kate couldn't quite see but knew was there.

Rising up on one elbow Kate responded with a smile of her own, "I think you said something about not being done with me?"

Castle sat up and began kissing Kate slowly and deliberately as his finger tips gently traveled up and down her spine. Arousal tore at her as she ravenously responded to his mouth on hers. She shivered involuntarily at his touch, "There's something I need to finish at the kitchen table."

Kate was fully ready for whatever Rick had in mind; past ready, "Oh, yeah?"

He got up and pulled her back to the chair where she had changed his bandages, "Now, let's see. Where were we?"


	33. Chapter 33

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 33

Kate awoke alone. Sometime during the marathon session she and Castle had engaged in last night, they had found themselves back in bed where things had continued until both succumbed to the drag of exhaustion. Last night had been different than any other night between them; dominating and aggressive were words that came to mind when Kate tried to put a label on it. She had never seen that side of Castle before, but couldn't say that it had surprised her. After all, there was almost five months of want and need between them; girlfriend or no girlfriend.

Kate stretched and telltale aches reminded her of individual moments; his surrender to the inevitable against the wall, the kitchen chair where she had expected to take control, but he had allowed her none, and back in the bedroom facing away from him in total submission; she could still feel his body on her back and his fingers digging into her hair and shoulders. She shuddered as the recollection roused thoughts of more of him.

"Castle?" she called toward the bathroom, but she received no answer. Kate got up searching for something to throw on finally finding his pajama top; still unworn.

Kate pulled up short in the doorway. Castle was standing at the kitchen island fully dressed. He was loading the clip of a pistol.

"What the hell is that?" Kate called from where she stood.

Castle didn't look up from his task but rattled off a description without a hitch, "It's a M11 Sig Sauer P-228 with a 13 round 9 millimeter magazine."

Kate entered the room, "Okay, so maybe I should have asked; what are you doing with it?"

He looked at her steadily, "It's mine."

Kate couldn't hide her surprise, "Your gun is in evidence."

Still looking at her without much emotion, "My father gives you burner cells. He gives me…" Castle held up the weapon indicating his gift.

Kate had made it over to where he was, "You have to have a permit for that thing."

Castle held up one finger, took out his wallet and pulled out a concealed weapon carry permit. Kate looked it over. He had gotten it almost immediately after she left for DC.

He went back to what he was doing; secured the magazine, checked the safety and holstered the weapon in his brand new shoulder holster.

"Castle, we worked together for five years and you've never felt the need to have your own gun," Kate pointed out.

Something showed up his face, but was gone before Kate could identify it, "A lot of things are different now, Beckett.

Kate winced. Something was off with him; the intimate link they had tapped over night was not present between them now. "It wasn't that long ago that the sight of a gun sent you...," Kate paused.

"Beckett, we need to go to the shooting range when all of this is over. Consider yourself challenged," Castle taunted trying to deflect Kate's focus. "I was at the gun range almost every day for months after you left me."

She didn't bite, but didn't miss the dig either, "I don't know how comfortable I am with this."

"I made coffee, would you like some?" Castle changed the subject completely since his attempt at redirection had failed. His expression made it clear that her opinion about the gun was irrelevant.

Kate was assailed with emotion, "Yeah, uh, please." She couldn't hide the turmoil she was contending with, but he had turned away to get the coffee which gave her time to try.

Kate stood with her back to Castle staring at the couch. Only a few short hours ago, they had been… They had been… What had they been?

She sensed that he was behind her and turned to face him. He handed her the coffee and their eyes synced. His were guarded and hers hid nothing, "Thank you." Kate pulled the plug on their eye contact before she gave away too much.

"My father left us a message," if Castle had picked up on anything, he had chosen to disregard it.

This time Kate dove for the out he offered, "What's our next move?"

"Tyson took the bait last night," Castle walked around her and sat on the couch.

Kate blanched, slid her gaze across the kitchen chair and chose to remain standing, "What happened?"

"He moved on the garage. He put two slugs in what he thinks was his brother," Castle paused, "and he popped Espo and Kevin once each in the vest." He was quick to reinforce that both Ryan and Espo were uninjured before sharing the rest, "The bad news is that Tyson set off a string of grenades and got away."

Kate was still concerned, "Are you sure they are alright?"

"They're bruised, but fine," Castle confirmed. "Lanie's training dummy didn't fare as well," Castle added smiling at her playfully.

She managed a tentative smile in return, "So what now?"

"We are needed at the precinct," Castle announced.

Kate's eyebrows rose, but she just waited for him to finish, "Ready to have a go at 3XK's little brother in the box?"

Castle had handed her just what she needed, a deserving target for her frustration.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Knowing they wouldn't be coming back to the safe house, they packed quickly and headed for the precinct taking the most direct route possible unconcerned with being tailed. Castle finished briefing Kate on last night's op and Hunt's plan to get OffKilter to flip on his big brother.

They entered the precinct from the rear hoping to avoid any residual news crews or reporters; Kate noticed that Castle seemed to lag behind Kate about five steps. The moment that Kate saw Espo and Ryan, she crossed directly to them, "I'm so glad you guys are okay."

Before they had a chance to react to Kate, Castle initiated the "bro banter", "You two just had to get shot too, didn't you?"

Espo and Ryan shifted their attention to Castle as they exchanged hugs and claps on the back. All three grimacing in pain, but their smiles were so genuine, if you didn't know them like Kate did, you might not have noticed.

After they finished their celebratory high fives and fist bumps Kevin dropped his voice to a whisper, "There's video of what went down last night courtesy of your dad."

"Is that what we are using to get this little creep to flip?" Kate inquired.

Javi took his turn, "Yep, your pops had the place wired for sound and video just in case the plan went south."

"Which it did," Kevin rubbed his side gingerly.

"Where's the video? We need to see it before we go in there. Determine what our angle is going to be with him," Castle had fallen in with his partners.

The boys glanced at one another almost forgetting Kate was there. Kevin called them over to his computer, "We cued it up to where things got interesting."

Kevin stepped out of the way and Kate took his seat. Castle moved in behind her; so close she could feel the heat from his body causing a rise in her own. Silence dropped between the foursome as they watched; the only sound came from the video which stopped just before Hunt's presence would have been revealed.

"That's it? That's what we are going to use to flip psycho junior?" Kate was highly skeptical.

Castle was on her side, "He's just going to think we're trying to trick him. There's nothing here that proves his brother was the shooter."

Javi smiled broadly, "This is what makes your old man so freakin' cool, Castle." He pushed play on a second video. This one was from cameras that Hunt had set up outside around the only two areas where Tyson would have had a play on the window at the garage.

The view was a broad one which cleanly showed the olive green hoodie through the window to the garage and the shooter not even really trying to hide himself behind an old Junker in the lot. Castle visibly tensed when Tyson's face took up the screen; the boys saw it and Kate felt it.

Castle was absorbed by what he was seeing: Tyson's emotionless and unmistakable face, the gun he used to put two bullets in his own brother, or so he thought, and the discharge of four distinct gun shots; his body recoiling perceptibly with each one.

Kate turned around; his face was even with hers, "You okay?" Kate let her hand rest atop the one of his that was on the back of her chair.

Castle stood up and reached for his left side. Javi and Kevin saw it but thought he was going for his wound, but Kate knew better. He had just checked his gun.

Kate took her firearm from her holster and put her other hand out toward Castle, "Give it to me."

Castle eyed her defensively, "There's no way you're carrying into this interrogation. Give it to me."

Javi and Kevin watched the scene unfold; shocked that Castle even had a gun and even more surprised that Kate was demanding it.

Castle handed the gun over seeing her point. Kate smiled softly at him and gave both of them handle first to Javi, "Let's do this."

Javi and Kevin didn't miss a beat, "Damn, Castle, this a Sig 226 or 228?"

"Let me see that, dude," Kevin reached for Castle's gun. "That baby can hold 13 in the magazine and one in the chamber."

"Fourteen rounds will put even the boogie man down," Javi was watching Kevin check out the gun.

Kevin put the weapon in his desk drawer along with Beckett's, "Tyson isn't the boogie man, Javi; he's a psychotic douche bag."

"Same thing," Javi and Kevin shoved each other playfully, grimaced and held their individual wounds heading to the observation room. No way were they going to miss this one.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

OffKilter had been sitting in the box for over an hour. He didn't understand why these assholes were bothering when they had to know that there was no way that he was going to tell them anything about 3XK.

When the door finally opened, he was surprised to see who his interrogators were; this had just become worth his time.

"Well, look who it is, dead detective and writer walking," the kid came out swinging.

Castle aggressively countered leaning over the table, "How's your face?"

The kid withdrew his elbows from the table and leaned as far back in the chair as he could; his eyes betraying him.

Kate put the laptop on the table. She watched Kilter's eyes linger over it like the machine was some kind of drug. "Shut up, jackass."

Castle interjected, "Allow me, Detective Beckett. Are you aware of the history of that phrase; dead man walking?"

The kid looked at Castle like he was crazy, but he stayed silent.

"Prison guards would yell that out as death row inmates were being moved about the prison. No one knows exactly why they did it, but there are theories. One being that it was a warning that the prisoner had nothing to lose and could be violent, but there was another theory that I think was much more likely."

Kate had settled into her seat and was letting Castle tell his story. The kid almost looked interested behind the disgusted snarl he had plastered across his face.

"That it was actually a warning not to touch the prisoner should their bad luck get transferred to anyone else," Castle stared the kid down with the same aggression he had greeted him with and a tone that lacked even a shred of humor. "You seem to be having a run of bad luck lately. Who's the dead man walking now?"

The kid's face drained of attitude and color, but his mouth kept going, "I'm not telling you jack shit."

Kate took this as her opening, "You don't have to say a word. We just want to show you something, that's all."

It was Castle's turn to sit back and let Beckett tear down what was left of his bravado, "I'm not interested."

"Why don't you watch it first and then you can decide," Kate's tone was almost conciliatory even though Castle knew she was seething beneath it.

The first video she showed him was what had been done with his olive green hoodie. He watched an undercover put it on and allow himself to be led to an unmarked police car behind the precinct by Espo and Ryan. "See the date and time stamp on the video?"

The kid nodded, "So?"

Kate pulled up a security site from within the precinct, "You see this redline right here? I'm sure you know what that means."

The kid laughed, "Yeah, you idiots got hacked…again."

"See the time of the hack?" Kate inquired.

The kid sat up a little in his chair, the handcuffs that bound him to the table rattling in the quiet.

"Video number two," Kate pushed play and sat back.

"I wish I had some popcorn. This is getting exciting," Castle said glaring squarely at the nexus of their plan.

The scene inside the garage flickered across the screen. This time Castle tensed before the shots went off. The teenager's eyes grew wide as he watched the action unfold and he twitched and blinked with each gunshot; so much for being a badass.

Kate stopped the video, "In case you didn't know it; that dummy in the chair is you."

Castle interjected, "Or at least that's what your brother thought."

"This is bullshit. You're just trying to get me to punk out on him and it ain't gonna fucking happen!" his over-reaction was encouraging.

Kate knew it was time to shove him off the ledge he was balancing on, "Here's lucky number three."

The kid watched the video; speechless. After a few moments he said, "Again." Kate obliged silently, leaving him with his own derailing train of thought. She hazarded a look at Castle; he was extraordinarily calm considering what was at stake.

Minutes later they were still waiting for a response and Kate had played it for him multiple times. His face had transformed from his earlier belligerence to something so mangled neither Kate nor Castle knew what the kid was going to do.

Castle looked at his watch, "Well, I guess that's it; right, detective?"

Kate wasn't sure exactly where Castle was going, but she trusted him and went with it, "I think it is. Do you have any questions for us?"

Castle added, "Before we release you."

The kid tried to stand up, but couldn't straighten his knees since he was still cuffed to the table, "Release me? I haven't even been here twenty-four hours yet."

Kate knew what Castle was up to, "Oh, we can keep you up to forty-eight hours, but we're done with you since you don't have anything to say that will help us."

"You'll be free to go after we process you out," Castle rolled the dice.

Kate grabbed the laptop and she and Castle headed for the door; neither looked back as they shut it behind them.

Javi, Espo and Gates came out of observation. "Okay, I better go and let Agent Stack know _we are going_ to be interviewing 3XK's little brother," she looked pleased with herself.

The other four headed back toward the detective's desks not sure what to do next, "Mr. Castle!"

Everyone turned back toward interrogation. "He wants to talk to you; alone," the uniform guarding the room told him.

They quickly returned to the hallway outside the door. Kate reached for Castle's hand, "You've got this, Rick. He asked to see you. Make him feel like you're doing him a favor listening."

Castle squeezed her hand; their eyes meeting. The chance connection sucked the two into the eye of their personal storm. Feeling like Castle had already torn the door hindering intimacy between them off its hinges, Kate held on to his hand while deleting the space separating them. Her lips found his receptive and wanting. She took his lower lip into her mouth as his closed on hers. Electricity shot down her spine as his free hand slipped into the small of her back pulling her against him. They had an audience. They didn't care.

Javi and Kevin stared openly; they couldn't do anything else. Neither of them had ever seen Castle and Beckett together; not like this. The closest they had come was Castle's birthday party, but the magnitude of the chemistry that night was nothing compared to the avalanche they were witnessing now.

Kate stepped past them into the observation room without a word as Castle ducked into interrogation leaving Espo and Ryan reeling, "Okay, now that was hot," Espo conceded.

"Wow, that was…wow," Kevin articulated what he could.

Javi and Kevin joined Kate who was staring into the interrogation room, "Someone needs to stop Gates from making that phone call to Stack."

Kevin bolted for the door with some measure of relief, "I've got it."

Espo watched Kate watching Castle mentally sparring with the scene from the hallway, "Beckett, he's struggling."

She didn't look away from Castle, "I know, Javi."

"I won't let you trash him again. I can't. He's my friend; hell, he's my partner."

"He was my partner too," Kate reminded him glancing back briefly.

"Yeah, until you sold him out to become a FED," his disappointment in her seeped through his defensiveness.

Kate looked at him, "What about us, Javi, aren't we friends?"

Espo's hurt surfaced, "I thought so until you up and disappeared on me without even a heads up. I thought our friendship deserved better than that."

"I know I hurt you, Jav," Kate admitted tearing her gaze from Castle to look at him. "There was nothing and no one I handled correctly when I left. I know saying I'm sorry isn't much, but I really am sorry and would like the chance to make it right."

Javi considered her request while making one of his own, "I know he needs you right now, but getting together with him while you're here won't do either one of you any good. I'm not sure what will happen to him when you leave again after the case is over."

Kate's eyes were fixated on the pair in the interrogation room, "I'm not going back to DC. I'm home for good and getting Castle back is exactly what I am going to do."

Javi knew Kate's history with men about as well as anyone. "You can't keep jerking the guy around because of your own issues. It's not fair."

She stared Epso directly in the face, "I'm in love with him." Kate downed a solid concrete barrier with those words.

Kevin and Gates came rushing in. Javi's expression told Kevin that he had missed something while he was out of the room, something big, and he made mental note to ask about it later.

Castle sat back down at the table across from his quarry, "What's on your mind, kid?"

OffKilter looked haggard. He had been scratching at some pimples on his face leaving it splotchy and red, his eyes were bloodshot and he had begun picking at his cuticles until one bled and he would move on to the next. Castle reminded himself of Kate's advice and said nothing else. He would wait him out.

"Why does he hate you so much?" the question was guileless.

Castle thought for a minute and took a page from his father's book of wisdom, "The truth is that crazy people don't need a reason to be crazy. They just need a target and right now, it's me."

The kid seemed to really scrutinize Castle's breakdown of his brother, "If it wasn't you, it would be someone else he finds a reason to target?"

Castle nodded.

"He's never going to just stop on his own," the declaration showed that cognizance was sinking in.

"He can't. His psychopathy won't let him," Castle wasn't trying to defend or explain Tyson, but simply affirm what the kid was trying to confront.

"Does he think I'm dead?" the question was mired in fear.

"At the moment," Castle answered him honestly.

"What happens if he finds out that I'm not?"

Castle gave him a look that said he was asking a stupid question, "You know better than anyone what he's capable of."

"He's going to kill me, isn't he?" again the rhetorical question.

"That's entirely up to you," Castle offered a life line.

He took it, "What do I have to do?"

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-


	34. Chapter 34

_**Okay – again a difficult scene to write, took me forever!– This one is kind of short because the other half of it is longer and will probably take most of the day to finish. Bad news –it's short. Good news – I expect some interesting reaction to the content. Good news – I'll be posting the other half tonight! **_

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 34

Dr. Burke sat patiently across from where Rick Castle stood staring out the window. He had been in the office for almost ten minutes and had said less than nothing. Through observation alone, Burke could tell that something had shifted in Castle from the last visit to this one; something that seemed to leave him vacillating between remorse and resentment; each unrelenting in its emotional pounding.

"What brings you here today, Rick?" Burke attempted to help him focus on what was driving the present crisis.

Castle looked toward Burke, but his eyes traveled past him, "I think we might finally have a real shot at taking down Jerry Tyson."

Burke knew that was strike one; what was happening with him right now had nothing to do with Tyson, "Are you prepared for what that will mean for you?"

He allowed a brief eye lock with Burke, "It will mean my family is safe."

Castle's evasive maneuver tanked, "I know it's important to you for your family to be safe, but my question was about you."

"I feel like Tyson has been a threat for so long that this thing has become a part of who I am," Rick answered truthfully.

"Is that why you're carrying a gun?" Burke had noticed the new accessory as soon as Rick walked in.

Rick was immediately defensive, "Aren't you going to ask me why now; after all these years without one?"

"I would think that's rather obvious. Tyson broke into your home with your family upstairs and shot you. You want to protect yourself and them," Burke was matter of fact.

"Thank you! Beckett is acting like it's completely out of character," Rick accepted Burke's response as validation.

"Do you think it's out of character, Rick?"

Damn, there he went again, answering questions with questions, "Maybe to carry it with me. That's new."

"What do you think carrying your own gun says to Beckett?"

Rick had already thought about this one, "That I don't want or need her to protect me anymore."

"That changes the dynamic between you," he observed.

Rick's resentment he brought with him flared, "She did that when she left."

Two strikes down. Burke decided to try and redirect him, "How are you sleeping?"

Still resentful, "I'm fine if…"

Rick had trailed off, but Burke decided to finish it for him, "You're fine if Kate is there?"

He nodded obviously not happy about the situation, "I don't know how to fix any of this. It's like I'm not me."

"Rick, you've been here almost a half hour dancing around whatever it is that has you so troubled," Burke realized that strike three was imminent, so he went straight at him.

Castle dug around in the emotional sludge he was wading through trying to find a semblance of a truthful response, "I feel like I'm out of control."

Burke was careful; the wrong tactic would send him into retreat, "Is that important to you; being in control?"

Castle found a spot on the floor to occupy his gaze, "It didn't use to be."

"What's changed?"

Castle gave Burke a look that asked if he was fucking serious, but he merely answered, "Me."

"How would you say you have changed?"

"When Beckett left, the old me would have run away to lick my wounds and self medicate with sex and alcohol, but I didn't." Rick was glassy eyed and perspiring. "Instead I decided to not be me. I worked harder than I've ever worked. I finished Federal Heat, found a steady girlfriend, took care of my daughter, resurrected the Derek Storm series and kept working at the 12th.

"Do you think there's anything wrong with that approach?" Burke wanted him to look at what he had just uncovered.

"I don't know, but not being me; it helped me survive her leaving," the conclusion grated against his defenses.

"So the new Rick decided to hide in plain sight?" Burke asked to keep Castle's thinking narrowed to his most recent pronouncement.

Castle was wildly ransacking his thoughts looking for the one that would account for everything, "The man she left, I didn't want to be him anymore."

Burke waited, but so did Castle, "Who was he; the man that Kate left?"

"He was the funniest kid in school who wasn't enough," Castle didn't see that one coming; his face telegraphing bewilderment that something from two years ago had just come flying out of his mouth.

"Did Kate say that?" Burke had to ask though he already knew the answer.

"We were having a huge fight about her mother's case, but that was two years ago," Castle looked like a pinball machine on tilt. He was back there reliving the moment she put a voice to his deepest fears.

"She said that? That you weren't enough?"

"Yes, but we were fighting," Castle took a weak swipe at defending her; an old habit dying hard.

"But you've never forgotten it," Burke reminded him. "In fact, that comment has been doing damage since the moment she said it. She hit on your kryptonite in a moment of anger and didn't even know it; and you didn't tell her."

"It wasn't that big of a deal," Castle objected giving Burke a look that said he wished he would shut up.

That was as big a lie as he had told yet, "What happened at the end of that fight?"

He looked cornered, "She told me we were over."

"And then?"

"She was shot," his voice had dropped to a whisper, "and you know the rest."

"I know Kate's perspective on the rest, but this isn't about her."

"Isn't it?" Castle challenged.

"Is it?" Burke responded calmly.

Castle's defenses splintered, "We slept together last night."

Burke didn't appear surprised which unsettled Castle, "How would you compare last night to times you slept together prior to the breakup?"

Castle's head snapped up, "Why aren't you surprised by this?"

"Why does it bother you that I'm not?" Burke turned the question back on him.

"You first," Castle demanded.

Burke considered his options and decided to answer him, but indirectly, "When two people have a history like yours and are thrown back together in life threatening circumstances; it was almost a foregone conclusion."

"So you would have been surprised if we hadn't slept together?"

Burke played through, "Yes, I would have been."

Castle finally sat down in the chair facing Burke, "It was different; really different."

Burke's giving in to Castle's demand had worked, "Tell me more about how it was different."

"I was more dominant than I have been in the past," Castle seemed troubled and uncertain about his word choice.

"Would you say you were aggressive?" Burke seized on the word he was avoiding.

Castle nodded stiffly his discomfiture growing, "Yeah, I would say so."

"How did Kate respond to this more aggressive and dominant you?" Burke intentionally used his descriptor as well as Castle's.

Searching his memory remorse cuffed him, "I really didn't give her much of a choice, but she went with it."

"She submitted to you?"

Castle nodded obviously struggling with the implications of the conversation, "Yes."

"Rick, you describe last night as sleeping with Kate, do you think that's the most accurate description of what happened?" Burke had to get Castle to consciously own what the doctor felt had actually happened between him and Kate.

"I guess there are more precise ways," Castle was hedging.

"If you were writing about last night in one of your books, how would you describe it?" Burke wasn't sure Castle was going to be willing to go there.

It took a couple of moments, but he finally acquiesced, "Sex. We had sex."

"You're admitting that last night was sex for you," Burke had him on the hook, "What do you think it was for her?"

Castle fought the yoke of responsibility by remaining silent.

"Was it sex for Kate?" Burke's tone was firm but lacked any judgment.

Rick's was laced with it, "No, probably not."

"What do you think it was for her, Rick?" Burke had to get him all the way there. Castle was still holding something back; he was sure of it.

"Love, she was making love," Burke could barely hear him, but from the look on Castle's face, he had gotten the message loud and clear.

"You've admitted that for you last night was all about sex," Burke was carefully kicking at Rick's more volatile emotion; the resentment. "Do you still think that's what last night was for you?"

Castle's was up and moving as though being still made his thoughts harder to regulate. When it came, his outburst was brutal and punched through from a damaged place, "I fucked her, alright? I fucked her just like she fucked me."


	35. Chapter 35

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 35

The news report was short, but definitive. A material witness related to the 3XK serial killer case had been shot to death the previous evening. The witness was an as of yet unidentified juvenile and police were asking for anyone with information as to his identity to please contact NYPD homicide. A sketch was used to give the populace a face to try and name.

3XK had no intention of claiming OffKilter. It would be a pine box on some plot of land the city had no use for that would be his brother's final resting place; it was more than the kid would have gotten if dealing with his remains had been left to him.

What he did find upsetting was that there had been no mention of the two cop deaths that 3XK had been anticipating. The shots had been difficult ones, but he had held on to high hopes that he had at least gotten one of them. Though moderately disappointed, 3XK had more important things on his mind.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Kate sat on the edge of her desk staring through the subway girl's murder board. She was waiting for Castle and had been for quite some time. He wasn't answering his phone; she was worried. Ryan told her that Castle had retrieved his weapon after the interrogation and left the building like a bat out of hell, he hadn't said where he was going and didn't take his detail with him. He was being reckless and impulsive; classic Castle, but the man she had been dealing with lately was not the Castle that she had come to know intimately over the previous five years. This Castle was an enigma to her; a mystery she wondered if she was ever gonna solve.

While waiting for him to return, Kate had dealt with Gates and what to do with their hacker friend. It didn't take much convincing for her to see that he needed to be somewhere other than the 12th. Even with the word out regarding his demise, Kate couldn't risk 3XK finding out the little traitor was still alive and there was most certainly a leak in their security somewhere; Tyson's access points had never been fully identified and closed and there was no room for error.

Kate was surprised; however, that she was able to get Gates to let her handle the details about where to squirrel him away and keep the loop closed just to members of her team. In reality, it would be Hunt who would be keeping the little jackass safe, but plausible deniability would pay off for them here; Gates didn't want to know what others might. As it was, she had to sell Agent Stack the half truth that there had been an attempt on the witness' life in lockup making his seclusion a necessity.

Ryan and Espo had already disguised the kid, spirited him out the back of the precinct and were working through a complex plan to meet up with Hunt and hand him over allowing for the take down of Tyson to be mapped out. Kate glanced through the window at Gates wondering if they were getting near to that "need to know" place and Hunt's involvement would be revealed; and if that happened, what would it mean to Castle.

Kate was startled from her introspection by a shadow that fell across her face.

"Hey," Castle said softly looking at her with a gentleness he hadn't felt toward her in a long time. Castle breathed deeply marveling at how much better he felt after the tough session with Burke. It was remarkable how acknowledging his own recent transgression had made Kate's seem less unforgivable. He had done the work, and it was paying off.

Kate's face lit up at the sight of the two coffees he had brought back with him, "Hey."

Kate didn't ask him where he had been as she accepted hers and he wasn't offering, "Where is everyone?"

"The boys have taken your new best friend to meet up with Hunt for the drop," Kate noticed that Castle had moved to where his legs were almost touching her knees.

"Where does that leave us?" Castle took a sip of his coffee his voice barely above a whisper.

She reached out and ran her hand along the lapel of his jacket, "That leaves us a couple of hours before our date with a shady looking van and a covert asset who will deliver us to our next sequestered location."

"Detective Beckett, you sound like a mystery writer," Castle teased and was rewarded with a smile.

Kate leaned forward and rested her forehead on his chest, "Oh yeah? I've been reading some really good ones lately by this local guy."

Gates stepped out of her office into their intimacy, "Mr. Castle; a moment?"

"Sure," Castle was immediately apprehensive; the effect of too many visits to the principal's office in more schools than he could remember.

After the door closed, Gates began, "I'm told that you left the precinct without your detail after the interrogation."

"Ummm, yeah, I guess I did," Castle admitted; experience had taught him to recognize being in trouble when he saw it coming for him.

"Do you remember when you, Detective Beckett and a tiger found yourselves locked in a room together?"

Castle could tell she wanted some kind of affirmation that he remembered, "Yes, sir, one doesn't forget almost being dinner."

She nodded and then her hands crossed over her chest, "Do you also recall the new protocol I put in place because of that specific incident?"

Castle swallowed hard, "Uhhh…yes… I believe I do."

"Prove it," she ordered.

"No one goes anywhere without calling it in," Castle thought he was close to verbatim.

"So we are quite clear why I called you in here?"

"I didn't tell anyone where I was going and I ditched my detail," the only way out of this was straight ahead.

Gates dropped her arms to her sides, "Mr. Castle, you and I have come a very long way from our inauspicious beginnings, wouldn't you say?"

"Yes, sir, I would particularly after the whole demented collectable doll thing. Wasn't sure there was any coming back from that one," Castle grinned at her; after all this time, it still didn't work on her.

"I am very protective of my people and somewhere along the way you have become one of those people," her sincerity checked Castle's previous attempt at levity.

A sobered Castle responded, "Captain Gates, you're right. I need to follow the rules just like any other member of this team."

Gates gave a brief smile and a curt nod, "Then expectations are clear?"

"Crystal," Castle assured her. "Should we hug it out?"

Gates glared at him and pointed to the door. Castle barely got turned away from her before a grin splashed across his face; he wouldn't want things to change too much.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

With a full protective detail along, the loft and Kate's apartment were two must visit destinations. Kate had been out of clean clothes for days and Rick had just run out. Kate was in and out of her place in less than five minutes and the few they spent at the loft didn't seem to dampen Castle's improved mood. It wasn't long before they were ready for a van ride. Over the last couple of hours they had fallen into comfortable easy interactions. Castle told Kate about his talk with Gates; she couldn't help laughing out loud when he told her about his offer to hug it out.

They met the white utility van at the location Hunt texted to the burner phone and got comfortable on the floor in the back knowing that wherever they were going, it wouldn't be a direct route getting there.

The driver was focused solely on ensuring they were not being tailed and getting them safely to their destination. His wing man, who was strapped with so much hardware that he looked as though he was ready for Armageddon, didn't have anything to say to them except, "Stay in the back and out of the line of sight."

They sat quietly shoulder to shoulder for a while, "Castle?"

"Yeah."

"It scared me today when you took off from the precinct without telling me," her new approach to their relationship required Kate to tell him how she felt.

"Second time I've gotten in trouble for that move today," he laughed.

"I'm serious, Rick," Kate's voice dropped an octave.

"You know, it still gets me when you call me Rick," just like the last time he had a session with Burke, his vulnerabilities were exposed.

Kate reached for his hand and interlaced her fingers with his.

"I went to see Burke," Castle hadn't known if he was going to admit that to her or not.

If Kate had a reaction to it one way or another, she didn't let it show, "How'd that go?"

Castle took the hand he was holding and softly caressed it with his other one, "It was rough."

Kate smiled at him knowingly, "I remember." A visit to Burke certainly explained the change in Castle's state of mind when he arrived back at the precinct. He hadn't seemed so angry and closed off. It was as though a huge weight had been lifted from him.

"Kate, I…," Castle didn't even know if he could say it.

"What is it?" she wished she knew how to let him know that whatever he had to say was okay.

Kate saw the self reproach as he searched for the right words, "Last night I…," he paused unable to piece together the rest.

Kate shifted so she was facing him, "What about last night? Regrets?"

"Yes, but not like you probably think," Castle didn't know how he was going to do this. "Do you have any?"

"Do I have regrets?" Kate laughed derisively. "Yes plenty, but none about last night."

Kate left a few moments untouched between them so he could find his way, "My actions last night weren't exactly honorable."

"Nothing happened last night that I didn't want as much as you did or couldn't you tell?" Kate tried to assure him.

"My motivation wasn't the same as yours," Castle acknowledged with no small amount of effort.

Kate thought she understood, "You and I are at two very different junctures with our relationship right now mostly because of me."

"That may be true, but that doesn't make what I did right," buried pangs of conscience surfaced.

"I wanted you last night; however I could have you. Do you really think I didn't know what I might be getting into when you came looking for me?" Kate told him holding his eyes with hers.

"You don't understand," Castle was anguished.

Kate was desperate to help him, "Yeah, I do. Last night was one thing for me and quite another for you." Kate had found words far less crass than the ones he had used to describe his actions in Burke's office.

"Did you know the whole time?" he had to ask.

"Honestly, no, but it became clear pretty early on," she told him. He looked miserable, "Castle, I meant every word I said to you that night in my apartment. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere and there's nothing about last night that weakens my commitment to you; to us."

"I am sorry, Kate," the words fell from him.

"Don't be; I'm not," Kate pulled their clasped hands into her lap smiling at him seductively; "It had been a long time for me."

His face registered her last comment just like Kate had known it would, "A long time since you…"

Kate reached up with her free hand and caressed his jaw, "There hasn't been anyone else for me since you and I first got together."

He stared at her as the impact of what she told him settled in, "There will never be anyone for me but you; I finally fell in love and I'm a one and done kind of girl remember?"

Castle smiled broadly at her, "Yes, I remember."

As Castle slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her tightly against him for a kiss, neither one doubted that this one would mean the same thing to both of them.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Their arrival at the safe house brought a flurry of activity. They were told to gather their bags and move quickly into the house.

Once inside they were met with warmer greetings than they had received from their van mates, "Dad!" Alexis literally flew across the room and into his arms.

"Richard, you're safe!" Martha exclaimed waiting to embrace him.

Kate stood back letting the family have their moment.

Alexis saw her first, "Kate, we're making dinner. Come and join me and Gram."

Kate was grateful for the invitation to participate, "Of course, what's on the menu?"

Martha carried the moment forward, "Cooking is about all there is to do here, darling. We're all going to be fat before we leave."

Kate laughed at Martha being Martha. Rick took their bags, "Mother, which room is available?"

The women froze. "There are three bedrooms Richard. Alexis can move into my room," Martha offered looking from one face to another.

Kate let Rick make the decision about sleeping arrangements, "That won't be necessary mother, but thank you." Kate smiled to herself as she watched him leave the room to find theirs.

As soon as Castle was gone, Martha posed a question to Kate, "Is Richard's father the one behind all of this? Is he helping you two get this Tyson creature?"

Kate glanced at Alexis who had the same ambushed look on her face that Kate did, "Martha, I really think that's a conversation you need to have with Rick."

Thankfully, Castle reentered the room at just that moment, "What conversation do you need to have with me Mother?"

Martha put down the utensil she was holding and walked around to where he stood in the middle of the living room, "I want to know the truth, Richard; about your father. Is he here helping you and Beckett?"

Castle's gaze softened as he looked at her, "Yes, mother, he is."

Not unexpectedly, she was flustered, "How long has he been here? Where is he now? Why haven't I seen him?"

Castle led his mother by her shoulders to the couch and sat beside her, "Only a handful of people know he's here. The agency that he works for has not sanctioned any of this. He's here on his own."

"I don't understand, Richard," she was clearly not getting it.

"He's a real spy; like the ones you see in the movies," Castle tried to help her digest the current situation.

"I want to see him. I think I have earned that right. I raised you all alone while he has been gallivanting around the globe," Martha was being dramatic, but Castle didn't think she was entirely wrong either.

"Mother, I promise that when this thing is over with Tyson, that I will try and arrange a meeting," his emphasis was on try.

As they both stood to return to the kitchen Castle told her, "All I can do is ask him."

Martha nodded her assent, "I accept that, Richard, but I can be very persistent."

"Don't I know it," Castle replied mostly under his breath.

Castle met Beckett's gaze and as Martha went back to the final preparations for dinner, he slipped in beside her, "You handled that well."

Castle was close enough to Kate to whisper while she finished the salad, "Let's just hope we all live long enough to see this family reunion happen."

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

1:00 AM found Kate standing at the window in the bedroom she was sharing with Castle. She wasn't sure exactly why she was awake. The evening had been uneventful enough; no fireworks to speak of between any of the players. In fact, there had been a generally relaxed atmosphere that had encouraged some good natured friendly conversation.

Kate wasn't aware that Rick had awakened until he was beside her, "Kate, are you alright?"

She smiled at him and rested her head on his upper arm, "I'm fine. My mind just won't turn off tonight."

Castle was suddenly concerned, "Is it what we talked about in the van?"

Kate turned to face him putting both of her hands on his chest, "No, I'm just thinking about what comes next."

"With Tyson?"

"No, I know exactly what's next for him," Kate's voice had taken on a hard edge.

Castle tipped her chin upwards so he could look into her face, "For you?"

Kate touched the bare skin of his chest his pajama top left uncovered, "For us."

Castle was staring into eyes made even more incredible by the moonlight streaming through the window, "Last night; that isn't who I am."

The warmth she saw in his face made her want him, "I'm perfectly okay with who you were last night, who you are right now, and whomever you'll be tomorrow."

"What if we screw this up?" Castle's fears found strength in the early morning darkness.

Kate didn't pause, "We will screw up, Rick."

Her admission caught him off guard, "What?"

"Relationships are living things, Castle. They breathe and they grow and they change; that's what makes them terrifying and amazing at the same time," it had taken Kate a long time to get to this understanding.

"There's one thing that has to be different between us for this thing to work," the certainty in her voice captured his attention. "No more secrets from either of us."

"We have had a lot of those," he realized how right she was.

"We still do. The tricky part will be to find a way to keep them from coming back to haunt us in the future," Kate wasn't at all sure how to make that happen.

Castle consciously knew, "We tell them."

"Seriously?" Kate wondered how this was going to work.

"Not all at once, but we get them out in the open as organically as possible where we can deal with them once and for all," he thought he might actually be kind of excited about it if he could get past being horrified. "Secrets lose their power when they stop being secrets."

"When do we start this?" Kate was knocked off balance with the possible implications of this emotional detour.

"Right now," Castle was dead serious, "I'll even go first."

"Okay, but if we're going to do this, the secret has to be something important. Something that impacted our relationship and changed the course of it in some way," Kate was nervous but willing.

Castle's was easy for him to choose because of his session with Burke. It didn't mean it was easy to say, "Mine goes back two years. It's something that I didn't realize stayed with me and undermined my confidence with you every day since."

Kate's apprehension about what was coming set off her flight response, but instead of running she whispered, "This is kinda scary."

He took both her hands in his in response, "The first time I tried to get you to stop investigating your mom's murder, we had a huge fight."

Kate remembered vividly, "I remember."

Castle gritted his teeth and forced the words out, "You told me that you had been hanging around with the school's funniest kid for three years and it wasn't enough."

Kate's eyes closed as she saw and heard herself that day, "And you took that as me saying you weren't enough. Oh, god, Castle, I'm sorry."

He looked like a sad little boy, "When you wouldn't talk to me for three months after the shooting, were with Josh, kept me at a distance for almost a year, lied about knowing I loved you, and then left for DC…"

Kate helped him finish, "I just kept handing you proof that let you believe you were right."

Kate laced her fingers behind his neck, "I wish we had known how to talk to each other then, Castle. I think we would be in a very different place now because what I was really trying to say was that I wanted more; that what _**we**_ were wasn't enough. Do you remember me asking you if we were just friends and partners that day?"

"Of course I do. I remember everything about that day," if only they had talked about it.

They took some time to absorb Castle's secret before exploring Kate's. He held her against his chest until she was ready.

"Mine goes back even further," Kate was trembling just like she did that day in the hallway outside of Rick's going away party. "It was the day you left for the Hamptons with Gina."

"You were with Demming," that was something Castle would never forget.

Kate shook her head and her eyes grew damp, "No, no I wasn't."

He looked confused, "Kate, you told me that you two were together. That's why I went to the Hamptons in the first place to get some space. I couldn't handle watching you be with him. It was in my face every time I turned around."

"When you told me the case would be our last one, I realized that I was going to lose you to my own fear, so I broke up with him. I was trying to tell you how I felt about you when Gina showed up," he could tell that Kate had yet to leave that day behind her. "There were so many women in your past, how could I possibly ever hope to be enough to hold on to you forever?"

"I'm so sorry. Three years wasted because we didn't finish a conversation," Castle felt the weight of time lost. She relaxed into him as destructive secrets became footnotes in their backstory; a part of their past that no longer had any power to hurt who they had the potential to be together.

Two huge secrets out in the open and they were still standing; they hadn't imploded. They were still here; face to face and chances were, when the sun came up in a few hours they still would be.


	36. Chapter 36

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 36

The smell of the slaughter house affected everyone the same way. You could tell by the faces each one made when they first arrived; they were as sour as the rancid blood itself. From the outside the place still looked abandoned; on the inside it was a different story.

In a room that was deep in the center of the building, Hunt and his people had set up their own tech base. Everything that had been available in the utility truck outside the precinct was available here. Perimeter camera feeds of the warehouse grounds took up a bank of six screens which was being closely monitored by one of Hunt's men. A second bank was under the control of the two men who had taken Castle and Beckett to the safe house with Martha and Alexis. Their role seemed to be more offensive than defensive; they were interacting in real time with what appeared to be other assets at alternate locations. The other half of the large room had been converted into sleeping, eating, and briefing areas. It would seem that Hunt had set up his own mini base camp.

Castle and Beckett's arrival was what the others had been waiting for. Kevin was the first to greet them as they crawled out of the back of the van, "Hey, welcome to the worst scratch and sniff sticker ever."

Javi walked up sniffing the air, "It's not that bad really."

"Compared to what; your laundry?" Kevin took the cheap shot.

Javi gave Kevin the death stare; he just laughed.

"Smells like a slaughter house," Kate observed with her usual rationality.

Castle nudged Kevin, "I personally liked the scratch and sniff reference; very 80's."

Ryan and Castle exchanged affirming fist bumps. Javi rolled his eyes as he led Kate and the others to Hunt.

"Wow, this is quite a set up," Castle marveled.

"The best part of being a spy, son, is having the most innovative toys," Hunt was clearly glad to see Castle.

Kate watched their interaction and couldn't help but smile; there was no doubt, they were father and son.

"If you two are ready, we can begin," an emotional curtain dropped revealing Jackson Hunt intelligence asset as he led the group over to the briefing area where wooden saw horses and plywood had been used to construct a very large table which was divided into four separate quadrants each having maps, satellite intel and photos.

Hunt posted himself at what was the head of the table while Javi and Kevin stood to one side of him and Kate and Rick took the other. Castle surmised that the five soldiers who filled in around the rest of the make shift table were mercenaries hired by his father.

"As you know, the kid agreed to provide us with the most probable locations where 3XK might be hiding in the New York area in exchange for keeping him free of bullet holes," Hunt began by making eye contact with each person around the table.

"That's the good news. The bad news is that there are four possible targets. We have pulled all the intel available about each one, but there is no actionable intelligence that leads me to believe that any one of the four is more likely than any other to be the current hole he's hiding in, so that means we will need to recon them all."

Beckett and Castle exchanged looks, "Is this happening today?"

"Son, it's happening now," Hunt revealed.

"To make is easy for everyone, I have labeled each location with a code name." Hunt pointed to the first one, "This is target Alpha. Clockwise we have target Bravo, Charlie and Delta."

"Easy enough," Javi observed.

"Your location name will also be your team name when you are using the two-way. No cell phones on this op; too easy to hack, trap and track."

No one seemed to have any questions so Hunt continued, "Esposito and Ryan, you have Alpha location and are Alpha team."

"Got it," the boys immediately began quietly studying and assessing their target and the available intel.

"Tango and X-Ray, Bravo is yours," Castle recognized them as the team who had driven the van to the safe house and then here.

"Charlie target goes to Yankee and Zulu," that left just one more assignment.

Hunt turned to Kate, "That leaves Delta for us."

Kate was set, "Great, I'm ready."

"Wait a second. What about me?" Castle looked like the little kid on the playground who always gets picked last for kickball.

Hunt put a hand on his shoulder, "Son, you and Whiskey are going to stay here, hold down the fort and make sure that junior stays put."

Castle looked from his dad to the merc Whiskey and back again, "I'm going to babysit Tyson's little brother while you guys go out and find the asshole that came into my home, threatened my family and put a bullet in my chest?"

"That pretty much sums it up," there was no apology anywhere in his response.

Kate wasn't quite so willing to dismiss his argument, "Castle, you go with your dad. I'll stay here with Whiskey and we'll make sure our little rat stays safely inside the maze."

Hunt wanted to keep his son safe particularly since he was already injured, but he could see there was no fighting this one, so he didn't, "All teams are a go in 120 minutes."

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Sitting back and watching everyone prepare to leave made Kate skittish. She didn't regret giving up her spot on the Delta recon team to Castle, he deserved and needed it; but the decision did worry her. His gunshot wound wasn't exactly healing well, his PTSD seemed to come and go at will, and the Castle who was methodically loading three extra magazines with rounds for his personal Sig Saur 228 was not the Castle Kate knew five months ago. The old Castle, though impulsive, was willing to hang back and actually worried about being shot. This new Castle was still impulsive, but had added conscious recklessness to his behavioral repertoire which had him seeing his own safety as less than paramount. Hunt had told her how he had breezed into her apartment that day not knowing who or what was waiting for him. The fact that he thought winging it with Tyson was a valid play; well that made her case.

"Gather in everyone. It'll be dark in less than ten minutes," Hunt called the teams to another room where four black vans waited.

As Hunt gave last minute equipment, supplies, and reminders to the teams, Kate couldn't take her eyes off Castle. He was dressed in black night operation fatigues. His Sig was holstered and he had a backup weapon jammed into his belt in the small of his back. He stood next to his father exuding a similar confidence looking every bit the part, but what validated her apprehension was the look on his face. Kate had only seen it once; it was during Alexis' kidnapping, and that time she had almost lost him.

Each team approached their assigned van. Hunt gave Castle eye contact and a head tilt in Kate's direction. Kate watched him approach her, her heart stepping up its cadence as he neared, "Hey," he greeted her their way.

"Hey," she responded melting into his chest and breathing him in as he gripped her waist and pulled her in; her arms wrapping around his neck.

Castle's mouth found Kate's parted lips waiting for him. He felt a difference in her; it was impossible not to now that his anger wasn't blinding him. There was abandon in her kiss; no, not abandon, it was surrender; the kind she had described to him in her apartment. He savored the feeling wanting more of it.

Castle's radio squawked an interruption, "Bro, seriously?"

Castle and Kate rested their foreheads together for a moment longer before she whispered softly, "I love you, Rick."

Turmoil clouded Castle's face, "Kate, I…"

Kate kissed Castle hard on the mouth, "Go, Castle. Find the bastard and let's finish this."

Castle nodded, kissed her once more on the lips and jogged over to the van and got in. She helped Whiskey open the bay doors far enough to let the vans slip through. She watched until their tail lights were swallowed up by the night.

"Guess it's you and me, detective," it was the first time Whiskey had spoken directly to her.

Beckett nodded affirmatively, "Where's the kid?"

Whiskey smiled, "Hunt roofied him a few hours before you guys got here. The dude's kinda needy. Keeps crying and hollering about his brother coming to kill him. He should be coming around any time now."

Kate let herself enjoy the mental image, "So you're saying Hunt was being a humanitarian when he knocked him out for a few hours?

Whiskey was leading the way to where the kid was being kept under lock and key, "Might not have helped the kid, but it sure helped us."

Kate laughed softly, "Nice."

The door to OffKilter's room had been altered. It not only had the original handle lock and a deadbolt, but slider locks had been added at the top and bottom of the door and an additional deadbolt was reinforcing the first one. The window in the door had been covered with metal plating that could only be accessed from the outside. Hunt wasn't taking any chances.

Whiskey reached the door, pulled out the keys and joked while opening the door, "Shall we see if sleeping beauty is up yet?"

The hallway light flooded the darkened room. Kilter bolted up right on his cot, "What the fuck!"

"Look whose up?" Whiskey teased.

"How long has he been locked up in here?"

"Probably a good six hours," she could tell he was guessing and that it was probably longer.

"I'm hungry and I need to use the bathroom," he was holding his head like he had a serious hangover.

"I'll take him to the head. There's stuff for sandwiches in the coolers," Whiskey announced pulling the lethargic hacker up from the cot.

Kate found her way back to the main area easily enough. She found deli meat, bread, and some mustard and decided that would have to do. After she made the sandwich she dug around and found some potato chips and a bottle of cold water.

Just as she decided that she had scrounged up the best there was to offer in the way of food, Kate thought she heard something. She waited and listened, but didn't hear it again. Kate drew her weapon; they should have been back from the bathroom by now.

Kate wasn't quite sure where the bathrooms were, so she back tracked to Kilter's room and went the direction she had seen Whiskey take with the kid. Three corridors later and too many doors to count, she saw a sign for the restroom. As she reached the men's room, she noticed that the door was slightly ajar and the light was still on. Kate took a deep breath and kicked it the rest of the way open. She immediately saw Whiskey on the floor by the sinks. He had a nasty gash as though his head had been smashed against one of them. Kate whirled around and checked behind the door; no one. Her attention locked on to the stalls; all five doors were closed, but not locked. She quickly checked for feet and didn't see any. If he was in there, he was standing on the toilet.

Kate kept her gun trained on the stall doors while backing up to check Whiskey. He was dead; his neck broken and his weapon and radio were missing. Kate fought rising panic and went for the first stall door. He wasn't there. Four more doors later, she was amped on pure adrenaline but hadn't found him.

"Shit," she whispered trying to come up with her next move. The worst part was that she didn't know exactly who she was looking for. Was Tyson here having found out his brother wasn't dead or was the kid not just a kid?

Kate decided that whoever it was would most likely be looking for a way out or attempting to access the technology. Even with a plan in mind it was slow going clearing every place that someone could be hiding. Just as Kate got back to the room where the boy had been held, she heard static from a radio.

The sound came from a room the opposite direction she had planned on going. She had to make a decision; go after whoever it was or go for help. The fact that someone had that radio made Kate's decision for her; the teams could be led into a trap with it.

Kate pressed her back up against the wall on the same side as the only door remaining in the hallway. She slid slowly toward the door, trying not to make any noise hoping that he would think she had gone the other way. A silent curse crossed her lips when she realized that the door was completely closed.

Taking a deep breath, she kept her body flush with the wall and reached out her hand for the door knob. When she tried to twist it, it spun in her hand. She wiped the sweat from her palms on her pants and tried again. The handle turned. It wasn't locked. Kate shoved the door open as far as she could from her awkward position. The radio squawked this time and she could hear voices, but not what they were saying.

Kate took a second to draw in a couple of cleansing breaths trying to slow the hammering of her heart and went through the door. The room was so dark she had to fight rising anxiety as she tried to find him. Static crackled from her left behind what was shaping up to look like a closet door; she swung wide giving her room to fire if he lunged at her.

When she had the angle, Kate kicked the door open wide revealing the radio; sitting on the floor. She knew instantly that she had been played; they all had. Only a second later, her brain registered an agonizing pain and before allowing her the refuge of losing consciousness, granted her a final thought; Katharine Houghton Beckett wished she had said yes.


	37. Chapter 37

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 37

Delta team arrived back at base first, but they didn't head in. They had been unable to reach Whiskey by radio and knew that something was sideways.

"What are we waiting for? Kate's in there," Castle's voice betrayed his panic.

Hunt the asset responded to his team member and not his son, "With Whiskey dark, we wait for Alpha, Bravo and Charlie before we move on base."

"Can't we radio them to see how much longer they are going to be?" Castle's anxiety about what might have happened to Kate was clearly weighing on him.

Hunt appeared to be on high alert, "When Whiskey went dark the radio silence protocol went into effect."

The conscious recklessness that Kate was worried about surfaced, "You can stay here, but I'm going in there."

Hunt snagged Castle's arm with an iron grip before he could even begin reaching for the door handle, "You do that and you might as well put a bullet in her yourself."

The starkness of Hunt's warning reeled Castle back in, "We can't just sit here."

Hunt glanced in the rearview, "We don't have to; they're here."

Castle got out of the van following Hunt's lead. The three vans had parked in flanking positions behind theirs. They were far enough away from the plant to be out of range of the perimeter cameras and all interior lights on the vans had been killed, so any look outs wouldn't know they were back yet; but Hunt knew that anyone waiting would be expecting them.

"Target recon report!" Hunt sounded angry.

Esposito's voice was low and grim, "Alpha target negative."

"Bravo site a no go," X-ray reported.

Charlie team's faces said it all, but Yankee stated, "Charlie was a bust."

Hunt didn't look surprised and Castle didn't miss it, "Delta too."

"Orders, sir?" Zulu prompted.

"We breach," everyone but Castle had anticipated the directive and was moving toward their van to gear up for the assault.

"I guess there's no way you would be willing to stay here?" Hunt asked as he secured his night vision goggles and a SCAR-H.

"Whoa, what's that?" Castle asked eyeing the rifle Hunt was readying.

Hunt's eye took on a bit of a gleam, "This is the Special Forces Combat Assault Rifle heavy model; or the SCAR-H."

The other teams walked up packing the same weapon along with night vision, "Long or short barrels, boss?"

"Bravo you will clear the outside perimeter, so long barrels for you," Hunt's tactical decision making skills were on auto-pilot.

"Alpha and Charlie, short barrels for clearing the warehouse," Hunt's new orders sent the men scrambling to adjust.

Hunt stared down his son, "You will stick with your Sig. You will stay behind me and you will do exactly what I tell you. Do you understand Richard?"

A father son moment of epic proportions was playing out, "Yes, sir."

As each man returned appropriately geared for his assignment, Hunt gave Castle a final look, "Let's go get your girl."

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

They approached the slaughter house on foot. Bravo team peeled off first to secure the perimeter. Each team had been assigned an entry point. Hunt figured that it was unlikely that Tyson, the kid or even both could deal with a triple breach.

With radio silence still in effect, everyone had three minutes to be in position and ready to force their way in when the last seconds of that three minutes ticked away.

Hunt and Castle would breach the bay doors the vans had gone through, Espo and Ryan had a side entrance that would allow them to clear the building all the way back to the base of operations, and Charlie team was coming through the front.

With gun at the ready, Castle's mind was racing with thoughts both bidden and errant. He tried clearing them only to be inundated with others driving him to distractions that ran through his brain like water through a sieve.

"Ten seconds; you wait ten seconds before you follow me in," Hunt ordered as he placed a small explosive on the part of the door where the lock was on the other side.

The moment the lock blew and Hunt disappeared through the door, a singular focus took hold of Castle, his mind cleared and on ten he went without hesitation through the door behind his father in search of the most important part of himself; Kate.

"Charlie clear!" the breach team hitting the front door called as they finished up their search of the tech room having arrived first.

Hunt and Castle arrived there quickly not having met any resistance upon entry, "Delta clear!"

The two teams remained on alert awaiting Alpha. When they walked through the door announcing that the building was clear, the grim expression on their faces kept everyone in stasis waiting for the rest. Exchanging glances with Ryan, Espo gave the report, "Whiskey is down; neck's broken."

Ryan added, "Looks like he was attacked from behind."

Castle registered the loss of Whiskey and fear gripped him, "Kate?"

Espo shook his head, "No sign of her, bro, or the kid."

Castle's face left nothing to anyone's imagination. The blow was crushing. He walked toward the briefing table trying to get some space and froze when he saw what had been left there for them; for him.

Ryan, who had been watching, approached asking, "Castle? You okay?"

Castle moved closer to the table to be sure of what he was seeing. In the middle of the briefing materials sat two chess pieces. The black rook that Castle had kept from Henry's crime scene was tipped over on its side and beside it was a black pawn sitting upright on its base. Castle didn't move toward the message or away from it physically, but his words stopped everyone in the room short, "The only way to stop a rook is to put one of its own pieces in the way."

No one was certain if Castle knew he had spoken out loud, "Tyson has her."

Hunt drew up beside his son, "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Incredulity was written all over his face, "Who else but Tyson would leave that message for me?"

Hunt motioned to Zulu to man the tech station, "Something about this kid has bothered me from day one. OffKilter; this kid's hacker handle is more than that to him. It's his moniker; his calling card and autograph, just like his psychotic brother."

Espo and Ryan stepped up beside them as Hunt gave Zulu orders, "Pull up the surveillance program. Search Echo-Lima-Kilo-Niner-Fife-Niner."

Seconds later, "We have position on Echo-Lima-Kilo-Niner-Fife-Niner, sir."

"What the…?" Espo broke into a grin.

Hunt explained, "An asset is always just that; an asset, never anything more or less. And a costly lesson I learned a long time ago is that an asset is on your side until he isn't."

Castle thought he was beginning to understand, "You tagged him."

Hunt allowed himself a brief smile, "Let's just say that when I gave him something to help him get some sleep, I thought it prudent to be sure we could find him if he somehow got misplaced."

Kevin pushed to where he could see the screen, "You really think this kid took out one of your guys and got the drop on Beckett?"

"I do. The only other possibility is that Tyson found this place. If that were true, he would have been waiting for us. It would have been best case scenario for him," Hunt had obviously thought this through before now.

Castle interrupted, "So we follow this blip on the screen and we find Beckett?"

Hunt wasn't making any promises, "It's our best shot."

Espo grabbed Castle's gaze, "It's her only shot."

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

When Kate woke up she had a pretty good idea where she was; the back of the white van from the slaughter house. Her hands and feet were bound with zip ties and her head was covered with a dark hood. She didn't have any idea how long she had been out, but was pretty certain the culprit was a blow to the head since the buzzing in her ears was making it hard to hear anything else.

The van was in motion and the driver was in a hurry. Every turn was erratic and sent her rolling from one side of the floor to the other. Now and then she even slid forward when the brakes were applied suddenly and with force. Each time she moved, she felt around for anything that might help her get free; but had found nothing helpful.

After a few minutes the buzzing in her head retreated enough to allow her to more effectively determine what was going on around her. From the sound of it, there was only one other person in the van and from the way he was driving, she was willing to bet that her captor was not Tyson at all, but the kid.

Kate mentally kicked herself, she knew the rules. You may have a gut feeling that someone is telling the truth, but it's your job to operate as if they are not.

Kate's suspicion regarding the identity of her captor was confirmed when she heard the kid on the phone, "Obviously I'm not dead. I know I screwed up when I got collared in the park, but I have something for you; something that could square things."

Kate had a feeling she knew what that something was.

"Check the site. I sent you a picture," the kid's voice was plaintive.

Over a minute passed before he spoke again, "Did you see it? I know it's not the writer, but it's the next best thing, right? You use her to get to him."

A cold chill ran through Kate as she realized that she was a just a pawn; a means to an end. The kid intended to use her to get back in the good graces of his brother and Tyson would use her to lure Castle into a trap where he would undoubtedly kill him. She had to get free. The Sig carrying, fatigue wearing, PTSD suffering, consciously reckless Castle he was now wouldn't hesitate to bring the war right to Tyson's door even if it ended up killing him.

"Tell me where you are," she heard the kid say. "I'll bring her to you. The rest of them are off chasing their tails."

There was silence in the van for a minute and the brakes squealed as he pulled over and parked. Once the engine was off, Kate tried to focus on every sound and movement, "Fine, if you don't want her…" He'd obviously been cut off on the other end of the line.

Another long silence filled the van, Kate still hoping to find a means of escape. "Send the address or don't. You have five minutes to decide," OffKilter's unctuous tone set off an alarm in Kate. Something wasn't right.

The van engine made a repetitive popping noise as the engine cooled down. Kate found herself counting the seconds between each one to keep herself calm. They were clearly parked somewhere isolated as there was no other traffic around them that Kate could hear.

The kid, still sitting in the front seat, tapped his fingers nervously against the steering wheel waiting to see if his offering was going to be enough to get readmitted to Tyson's inner circle.

After what had to be almost the full five minutes, Kate heard the tell-tale buzzing of a cell. Seconds later, the van started up and pulled away.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Jerry Tyson and 3XK were one and not the same. The 3XK persona was one of a ruthless serial killer who found no value in personal connections and lived only to play inhumane games with those luckless enough to draw his attention or in the case of Richard Castle, his ire. He was a master planner; nothing was ever left to chance. He needed to always be at least five steps ahead. His end game never changed; and someone always died.

Jerry Tyson, the other side of the same demented coin, had somehow managed in his mind to elevate his personal attacks on Castle to relationship status making those closest to him part of the liaison. The emotions that he did have about what linked them had crossed into obsession and were destructive and cancerous and could only end one way; with Richard Castle dead. Any collateral damage among his family and friends would be superfluous but gratifying.

A catalyst in the form of Kate Beckett had miraculously presented itself through a framework provided by his brother; the same brother who got himself snagged by the cops and was supposed to be dead. Both personas; however, found the allure of Kate Beckett as bait for Richard Castle almost too substantial to resist. The risk versus reward analysis of this plan shook out at about 50/50. 3XK was swayed by the possibility of taking Beckett's life in front of Castle and Jerry Tyson was enamored by the idea of slaughtering Castle only after he knew that he had failed to save the woman he loved. Having landed on the same side of the argument, no matter which killer showed himself tonight, all were in agreement, death was coming.


	38. Chapter 38

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 38

Kate had a plan. It wasn't a very good one, but it was all she had at the moment. The van had turned onto an unpaved road and traveled at least a couple of miles. Her stomach churned internalizing what that meant for her chances of escape. When the engine was finally cut and the kid came to get her, she would make her bid. At the back of her mind, she knew she wasn't just fighting for her own life; she had to save Castle from Tyson and possibly even himself.

The side door to the van slid open, "Detective, you removed your hood, but I guess it doesn't really matter now, does it?"

Kate took in her surroundings as Kilter tried to yank her through the door and get her to her feet. The best she could determine was that they were at an old farmhouse outside the city and that the closest lights appeared to be to her right maybe a mile away. If she got free, she needed to break left into the woods and circle around before heading toward the lights if she hoped to have any shot at survival.

Kate collapsed at his feet, "Get the fuck up!" Anger incited him as he pulled on her bound arms dragging her back to standing.

"My feet are tied together jackass," Kate hissed unable to cover her own rage.

The kid threw Kate back down on the ground, "Don't call me that, bitch."

"Tyson! I'm sorry!" he was screaming like a wounded animal at the house. "I brought her for you! Come and get her! Tyson!"

Kate kept waiting for Tyson to show his face and help Kilter drag her into the single story wood frame building.

Minutes passed and no one came. The kid looked back at Kate, but he didn't look anything like the teen hacker that she interviewed. The pupils of his eyes were coal black and had lost all light and color. The blackness she saw in them was horrifying. The only thing that tore her eyes from his was the knife he pulled from his pocket. Kate tried to push herself away from him backing toward the van door.

"Be still," he told her harshly cutting the ties on her ankles. He pulled her to her feet again and held her tightly by one arm, his nails cutting into her through her shirt.

When he started yelling at the house again, he was waving the knife around wildly, Kate flinched, "Tyson! Don't you want her? I did this for you! Everything can be like it was!"

For a split second he was distracted and Kate made her move. The spinning back kick that she used to connect her boot with his skull didn't carry the force it usually did since her hands were tied, but it was enough to knock him off his feet and the knife free from his hand. She bolted for the woods, not looking back but listening for footsteps behind her. Cover was only a few feet away and she put her head down straining to reach it. Her lungs pulled in the cool night air fueling her forward; lunging for the protection of the dark when blinding light shot across the yard from every possible direction creating a faux daylight. The cover that had only been inches from her reach was gone; wiped out by a series of flood lights set up for a situation just like this one. He had been a step ahead again. Kate stopped running, closed her eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry, Castle."

Knowing she had nowhere to go; she turned back to face her captor. What she saw made her blood run cold. The brothers were standing by the door of the van watching her; reveling in her failure and abject fear. Their smiles were macabre and menacing as they approached; Tyson's gun trained on her head.

"Where is he, Kate?" Tyson grabbed her by her hair and began dragging her toward the house. He stopped, looked her in the eyes and asked again, "Where is your boyfriend? He and I have some unfinished business."

"Screw you, Tyson," Kate cursed him, "I want you to know that I'm going to be the one who puts you down tonight."

Tyson laughed, "Is that right?" He started dragging her again; still laughing, "Good to know."

"What about me?" the kid was groveling for scraps from Tyson like a dog whose been chained in the yard all his life and it made Kate sick after what she had just seen in his eyes. There was no way he was what he seemed; one minute a sniveling suck up and the next staring through a set of malevolent eyes the likes of which she had never seen before.

"Hide the van and then you can come inside," Tyson didn't even look at him; just gave him orders and dismissed him. Kate wondered if this was what it had been like all of the kid's life.

Kate fought against him, she knew if he got her in the house her chances of survival dropped to single digits. "Stop fighting me, Kate, you don't want me to mess you up before your guy gets here."

Kate managed to look back toward the van and saw Kilter staring after them, "I told you to hide the damn van, jackass!" Kate saw the kid's face transform with outrage; she was glad she couldn't see his eyes. No wonder he got so upset when she called him that; jackass was apparently his brother's pet name for him.

Tyson pushed open the front door and shoved Kate hard into the middle of the room sending her crashing to the floor, "What do you think of the place? I hope you like it since you and lover boy will have your last date here. Did he tell you that I've watched you two make love?"

Kate glared defiantly at him, but didn't respond, "How should we get him here? Maybe I should call him. No, you should call him."

He crossed to her and yanked her hair back forcing her to look at him, "I know. Let's send him a video invite."

The front door opened and the lights from the front of the house streamed in behind Kilter, "I moved the van."

Tyson dropped Kate's hair but kept an eye on her, "Turn the lights off, stupid. Do I have to tell you everything?"

Kilter didn't speak or move, "Bring me some zip ties too; I need to be sure Detective Beckett doesn't get any ideas about leaving before the party really gets started."

"Turn them off yourself, asshole," when the kid finally spoke, Kate had no doubt what he truly was; a killer just like his brother.

Tyson seemed to forget Kate for a minute as he lunged at his brother pointing the gun at his face, "You do as I say, or there will be two bullet holes where those fucked up eyes of yours are."

Kate searched the room for an exit. She didn't see one she could reach before Tyson would be on her.

"Go ahead, brother," Kilter had lost all fear and grabbed the barrel of the gun and put it against his own eye socket, "You thought you already put two in my back at that garage. Here's your chance to finish it."

Tyson smiled ghoulishly, "True. I did do that, but I had good reason. You're a worthless screw up. If it wasn't for your computer skills, I'd of done away with you years ago; drowned you in a burlap sack like an unwanted mongrel puppy."

The kid's rage grew exponentially, "Shoot me, Tyson! Shoot me you psycho fuck!"

Tyson's smile faded and his face blanked out. The double tap to the face took out OffKilter's eyes as promised and he was dead before he hit the floor. 3XK had dropped by after all.

Tyson swung around to face Kate, "Now where the fuck were we?"

Tyson had started to close on her when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye in the back of the room, "Something about an invitation for my son," Hunt's voice split the air.

Tyson's confusion was twisted with surprise, "You," his voice was barely above a whisper as realization set in; his eyes screaming epithets. "You're his father?"

Castle stepped out of the darkness still outfitted from the earlier recon op, his Sig aimed at Tyson's head, "Family reunions all around it would seem."

Tyson's face contorted with hatred, "Look who's here, Kate!"

Castle tried to keep Tyson focused on him. "Family squabble?" Castle asked Tyson sarcastically as he signaled toward Kilter's crumbled body.

"Families can be a bitch, huh, Castle?" Tyson sneered through a caustic laugh, "Never would have guessed that the ghost tracking me was your old man."

"You good here, son?" Hunt never let his eyes leave Tyson.

Kate's worst case scenario began playing out in front of her, "Castle, no."

Castle's response was void of emotion and definitive, "Get her out of here."

Looking at the two men, it dawned on Kate what was about to happen, "Castle, no!" She tried to reach for him, but her hands were still bound.

"Get her out of here now!" Castle ordered vehemently while taking three steps toward Tyson which offered Kate and Hunt some protection now that he was in front of them.

Hunt backed over to Kate. Tears were streaming down her face, "Please don't do this!" Hunt holstered his weapon and wrapped both of his arms around Kate's waist, lifted her up kicking and begging and backed into the darkness from which he had come.

Tyson leveled his gun at Castle, he didn't flinch, "How the hell did you find me? Did that jackass bring you here?"

"In a manner of speaking," Castle's Sig was pointed at Tyson's head equalizing the standoff. "No body shots this time, Tyson, so unless your skull is made of fucking Kevlar, I suggest you put the gun down."

"Daddy may have gotten your girl out of here, but you aren't going to be so lucky," Tyson laughed. "How's the shoulder by the way?"

Castle's anger flared just like Tyson intended, but he wouldn't let it force him into a mistake, "Ever been shot before, asshole? It sucks."

Tyson's eyes blazed from some deep dark well inside, "You ready for how taking a life, even mine, will change you?"

"I am if it means I stopped you from ever having the opportunity to come near my family again," Castle took another step forward and Tyson tightened his grip on his weapon and adjusted his aim for what would be a head shot.

"Then I guess we go out together, Castle. In a blaze of glory; just like in the movies," Tyson's madness animated his face.

"Is that your last word?" Castle's confidence shook Tyson's; his smile fading somewhat from his face.

"I go, you go," Tyson had made his final decision.

"Checkmate, jackass," Castle gave the signal and it seemed to him that the glass from the window shattered, his father's sniper round tore through Jerry Tyson's skull, and 3XK ceased to exist simultaneously.

Esposito and Ryan broke through the back door and Charlie team through the front followed closely by Kate.

She threw herself into Castle's arms. After a moment he whispered softly in her ear, "I'm okay, Beckett."

"I thought I'd lost you," Kate whispered back letting her hands go to his face as he kissed her.

"Never," he assured her.

"I love you, Rick," the words came from a place so deep within her that tears came with them.

Without hesitation or uncertainty he answered her, "I love you too, Kate."

Their eyes met and held; each of them seeing the same thing; finally.

"Everyone okay?" Espo asked as Ryan checked Tyson's body.

"Yeah, we're good," Kate kept staring at Castle to assure herself that he was really all right; her fear for him still with her.

"He's dead," Kevin announced as he kicked Tyson's body a little harder than necessary to check for signs of life.

"Bro, we know. Look at him; he's missing half his face and his brain is like; everywhere," Espo gave him a look that said he needed to stop kicking the dead guy.

The last man in was Hunt. He handed Espo the sniper rifle he had used and crossed to Tyson's body to check for himself that the threat to his family had been extinguished. When he was satisfied he crossed to Kate and Richard, "You two okay?"

They glanced at Tyson's body knowing that the night had played out in the only way that would truly put an end to 3XK's game; Beckett and Castle exchanged knowing looks and answered in unison, "Never better."


	39. Chapter 39

_**This is the **__**alternative demise for our friend Tyson**__** – I've had MUL**__**TIPLE requests for a harder core ending/confrontation…. This ending opens up all kinds of possible issues which is why I didn't write it the first time (so you know which one I prefer)… But because you have all been so good to me… Here it is… choose the one you personally like best and go with it.**_

_** The beginning stayed the same – I took some of the better dialogue from this chapter that fit and retrofitted it to Chapter 38 - so the two chapters are more similar now than they were originally. **_

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 39

Kate had a plan. It wasn't a very good one, but it was all she had at the moment. The van had turned onto an unpaved road and traveled at least a couple of miles. Her stomach churned internalizing what that meant for her chances of escape. When the engine was finally cut and the kid came to get her, she would make her bid. At the back of her mind, she knew she wasn't just fighting for her own life; she had to save Castle from Tyson and possibly even himself.

The side door to the van slid open, "Detective, you removed your hood, but I guess it doesn't really matter now, does it?"

Kate took in her surroundings as Kilter tried to yank her through the door and get her to her feet. The best she could determine was that they were at an old farmhouse outside the city and that the closest lights appeared to be to her right maybe a mile away. If she got free, she needed to break left into the woods and circle around before heading toward the lights if she hoped to have any shot at survival.

Kate collapsed at his feet, "Get the fuck up!" Anger incited him as he pulled on her bound arms dragging her back to standing.

"My feet are tied together jackass," Kate hissed unable to cover her own rage.

The kid threw Kate back down on the ground, "Don't call me that, bitch."

"Tyson! I'm sorry!" he was screaming like a wounded animal at the house. "I brought her for you! Come and get her! Tyson!"

Kate kept waiting for Tyson to show his face and help Kilter drag her into the single story wood frame building.

Minutes passed and no one came. The kid looked back at Kate, but he didn't look anything like the teen hacker that she interviewed. The pupils of his eyes were coal black and had lost all light and color. The blackness she saw in them was horrifying. The only thing that tore her eyes from his was the knife he pulled from his pocket. Kate tried to push herself away from him backing toward the van door.

"Be still," he told her harshly cutting the ties on her ankles. He pulled her to her feet again and held her tightly by one arm, his nails cutting into her through her shirt.

When he started yelling at the house again, he was waving the knife around wildly, Kate flinched, "Tyson! Don't you want her? I did this for you! Everything can be like it was!"

For a split second he was distracted and Kate made her move. The spinning back kick that she used to connect her boot with his skull didn't carry the force it usually did since her hands were tied, but it was enough to knock him off his feet and the knife free from his hand. She bolted for the woods, not looking back but listening for footsteps behind her. Cover was only a few feet away and she put her head down straining to reach it. Her lungs pulled in the cool night air fueling her forward; lunging for the protection of the dark when blinding light shot across the yard from every possible direction creating a faux daylight. The cover that had only been inches from her reach was gone; wiped out by a series of flood lights set up for a situation just like this one. He had been a step ahead again. Kate stopped running, closed her eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry, Castle."

Knowing she had nowhere to go; she turned back to face her captor. What she saw made her blood run cold. The brothers were standing by the door of the van watching her; reveling in her failure and abject fear. Their smiles were macabre and menacing as they approached; Tyson's gun trained on her head.

"Where is he, Kate?" Tyson grabbed her by her hair and began dragging her toward the house. He stopped, looked her in the eyes and asked again, "Where is your boyfriend, Kate? He and I have some unfinished business."

"Screw you, Tyson," Kate cursed him, "I want you to know that I'm going to be the one who puts you down tonight."

Tyson laughed, "Is that right?" He started dragging her again; still laughing, "Good to know."

"What about me?" the kid was groveling for scraps from Tyson like a dog whose been chained in the yard all his life and it made Kate sick after what she had just seen in his eyes. There was no way he was what he seemed; one minute a sniveling suck up and the next staring through a set of malevolent eyes the likes of which she had never seen before.

"Hide the van and then you can come inside," Tyson didn't even look at him; just gave him orders and dismissed him. Kate wondered if this was what it had been like all of the kid's life.

Kate fought against him, she knew if he got her in the house her chances of survival dropped to single digits. "Stop fighting me, Kate, you don't want me to mess you up before your guy gets here."

Kate managed to look back toward the van and saw Kilter staring after them, "I told you to hide the damn van, jackass!" Kate saw the kid's face transform with outrage; she was glad she couldn't see his eyes. No wonder he got so upset when she called him that; jackass was apparently his brother's pet name for him.

Tyson pushed open the front door and shoved Kate hard into the middle of the room sending her crashing to the floor, "What do you think of the place, Kate? I hope you like it since you and lover boy will have your last date here. Did he tell you that I've watched you two make love?"

Kate glared defiantly at him, but didn't respond, "How should we get him here? Maybe I should call him. No, you should call him."

He crossed to her and yanked her hair back forcing her to look at him, "I know. Let's send him a video invite."

The front door opened and the lights from the front of the house streamed in behind Kilter, "I moved the van."

Tyson dropped Kate's hair but kept an eye on her, "Turn the lights off, stupid. Do I have to tell you everything?"

Kilter didn't speak or move, "Bring me some zip ties too; I need to be sure Detective Beckett doesn't get any ideas about leaving before the party really gets started."

"Turn them off yourself, asshole," when the kid finally spoke, Kate had no doubt what he truly was; a killer just like his brother.

Tyson seemed to forget Kate for a minute as he lunged at his brother pointing the gun at his face, "You do as I say, or there will be two bullet holes where those fucked up eyes of yours currently sit."

Kate searched the room for an exit. She didn't see one she could reach before Tyson would be on her.

"Go ahead, brother," Kilter had lost all fear and grabbed the barrel of the gun and put it against his own eye socket, "You thought you already put two in my back at that garage. Here's your chance to finish what you started."

Tyson smiled ghoulishly, "True. I did do that, but I had good reason. You're a worthless screw up. If it wasn't for your computer skills, I'd of done away with you years ago; drowned you in a burlap sack like a mongrel puppy."

The kid's rage grew exponentially, "Shoot me, Tyson! Shoot me you psycho fuck!"

Tyson's smile faded and his face blanked out. The double tap to the face took out OffKilter's eyes as promised and he was dead before he hit the floor. 3XK had dropped by after all.

Tyson swung around to face Kate, "Now where the fuck were we?"

Tyson had started to close on her when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye in the back of the room , "Something about an invitation," Hunt's voice split the air.

Tyson's confusion was twisted with surprise, "You," his voice was barely above a whisper, but his eyes were screaming epithets.

Tyson leveled his gun at Kate who was at point blank range. Hunt responded with an immediate shot through Tyson's left shoulder, "That's for my son, fuck head."

The impact knocked Tyson back, but he managed to hold on to his weapon and stay on his feet as realization set in, "You're his father."

Castle stepped out of the darkness still outfitted from the earlier recon op, his Sig aimed at Tyson's head, "Family reunions all around it would seem."

Tyson's face contorted with hatred, "Look who's here, Kate."

"You good, son?" Hunt never let his eyes leave Tyson.

Castle's response was void of emotion and definitive, "Get her out of here."

Looking at the two men, it dawned on Kate what was about to happen, "Castle, no!" She tried to reach for him, but her hands were still bound.

"Get her out of here now!" Castle ordered vehemently while taking three steps toward Tyson which offered Kate and Hunt some protection now that he was in front of them.

Hunt backed over to Kate. Tears were streaming down her face, "No, Castle, no! Please don't do this!" Hunt holstered his weapon and wrapped both of his arms around Kate's waist, lifted her up kicking and begging and backed into the darkness from which he had come.

Tyson was bleeding pretty liberally from his shoulder wound, but it seemed not to have fazed him.

"Family squabble?" Castle asked Tyson sardonically as he signaled toward Kilter's crumbled body.

"Families can be a bitch, huh, Castle?" Tyson sneered through a caustic laugh, "Never would have guessed that the ghost tracking me was your old man. I didn't think your whore of a mother even knew who her little bastard's father was."

Tyson's attempt at antagonizing Castle turned out badly for him, a bullet from the Sig ripped through the same shoulder Hunt had hit; exactly where Castle had been aiming.

Tyson's eyes were glazed not with pain, but with loathing, "Shit, that burns!"

Castle was in a place where emotion didn't live; he was unreadable and with Kate safe whatever weaknesses Tyson thought he had to exploit were gone, "No, fuck."

Tyson laughed harshly and lashed out, "Seems like a few weeks with your dad around and your balls finally dropped."

Castle could hear Kate frantically calling for him from outside. He knew that Hunt or Espo were holding her back from the house, "That Kate, she's a hell cat. I was looking forward to…"

Castle cocked the hammer on the Sig in warning to Tyson to shut the fuck up about Kate, "I've got thirteen more."

Tyson's face twitched; his façade slipping, "How about this? We both put our guns down, walk away; living to match wits another day."

Castle's acidic laugh rattled Tyson, "Are you stupid? This is a shoot out, jackass. Only one of us is walking out of here."

Tyson wondered for the first time since this all began if Castle's death was the only possible outcome, "That body armor part of the shoot out; doesn't seem quite fair."

Neither Castle's expression nor his tone changed as he removed the military grade chest protection; careful not to lose his lock on Tyson, "Nothing fair about the night in my office either."

Tyson's face twitched a second time, "That was business, Castle."

Castle threw the armor aside, "Unfortunately for you, this is personal."

"I hear you've got a little PTSD; seeing a shrink," Tyson was desperately scrounging for a weakness in Castle where there appeared to be none.

Castle's eyes had a murky glaze, but he was breathing slowly and evenly in through his nose and out through his mouth; his anxiety was there but under icy control. He had never been more present in a moment in his life. What Tyson didn't know was that the only person who had any hope of reaching Castle in his current state was calling for him from outside.

"Come on Castle, you don't want this; you're not a killer," the second gunshot to the shoulder was taking its toll on Tyson.

"That's where you're wrong," Castle commanded every word. "You said it yourself. I kill people in my mind every day. It's not hard to believe that I would eventually cross the line; given the right impetus."

Tyson's eyes blazed from some inner reserve, "You ready for how taking a life, even mine, will change you?"

"I am if it means I stopped you from hurting anyone else," Castle took another step forward and Tyson tightened his grip on his weapon and steadied his aim at Castle.

Something crossed Tyson's face that Castle took to be acceptance, "Still trying to be the hero?" Tyson's face twitched a third time just before he squeezed the trigger.

Castle read Tyson's tell, rolled left and came up shooting; one round after the other; eyes unblinking, body rigid as steel. Tyson convulsed as each shot cleaved a hole in him. His shooting arm flew hard right continuing to pull the trigger; his finger contracting in spasms.

When Tyson's body slammed into the floor, Castle moved to stand over him; weapon at the ready. He wasn't surprised to find the bastard alive.

Tyson's gun was still clutched in his hand; Castle didn't kick it clear. He glared provocation at Tyson who used his last breath to take up the challenge at which time Castle put one last bullet cleanly between his eyes.

The front and back doors splintered simultaneously as Charlie and Alpha teams made entry, "Castle!" Espo and Ryan were calling his name repeatedly.

"I'm here," Castle answered.

"You okay, Castle?" Espo asked as Ryan checked Tyson's body.

"Yeah, I'm good," he reassured him.

"He's dead," Kevin announced as he kicked Tyson's body a little harder than necessary to check for signs of life.

"Bro, we know. Look at him; he's Swiss cheese," Espo gave Kevin a look that said he needed to stop kicking the dead guy.

Hunt entered last keeping Kate behind him. "We're clear," Espo reported.

Kate's eyes found Castle and she ran to him concerned, "You're hurt."

Tyson's shot had found its mark in his left arm, "I didn't even realize I'd been hit."

"Bro, you've got to stop taking off your body armor," Kevin held the armor up in disapproval.

Castle tapped into emotions that were slowly resurfacing, "It wouldn't have helped anyway; he shot me in the bicep."

When Castle looked back at Kate, she was crying, "Hey, hey, everything's alright, Beckett." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to his chest.

"I thought I'd lost you Castle; just like Montgomery," Kate admitted with her face buried in his chest. "I love you, Rick," the words came from a place deeper within Kate than she had ever accessed before.

Without hesitation or uncertainty he answered her, "I love you too, Kate." Their eyes met and held; each of them projecting the same thing; finally.

"Son, we're gonna need your best story telling skills to explain this mess to the locals," Hunt had checked for himself that Tyson was dead and had come to join them.

"The only part of the story that matters to me right now is the end; 3XK is dead, it's finally over," Castle reached for Kate's hand and interlocked his fingers with hers.

Hunt paused and took a good long look at the two of them, "You both okay?"

They glanced at Tyson's body knowing that the night had played out in the only way that would truly put an end to 3XK's game; Beckett and Castle exchanged knowing looks and answered in unison, "Never better."


	40. Chapter 40

_**A/N – 98 percent of this chapter's structure allows you to go with whatever Tyson death appealed to you – though I wrote it with Chapter 38 in mind. **_

_**The conversation b/t Martha and Hunt is based on what little we actually know about their past – so keep that in mind.**_

_**DUE TO A PERSONAL CHALLENGE BY MY 12 YEAR OLD SON- I'm going for 100,000 words. I've got several scenes I still wanted to write and an epilogue ...so stay tuned.**_

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 40

Jackson Hunt and his team disappeared in three of the black vans leaving Beckett, Castle, Espo and Ryan to deal with the two dead brothers. In what had to be record time, the quiet little house attained infamy status anointed to it by the news media that converged on them; it would forever be known as the place where serial killer 3XK had finally been cornered and killed by police.

Kate divulged the agreed upon story to the representatives from the multiple municipalities who showed up following her call for backup. She explained that once it came to light during an interrogation that OffKilter was 3XK's brother, he was allowed to escape the safe house in the white van; the plan being to follow him using a GPS tracker that had been planted in the van in the hope that it would lead them to 3XK. The tracker had led them to the farmhouse.

While the brothers had fought in the front of the house, Beckett, Castle and Ryan had gone in through the back hoping to use the element of surprise to their advantage. This left Espo to take up a position outside with his sniper rifle as support for the entry team. Kate further explained that during the argument, 3XK shot his brother twice in the head at which time Beckett and Castle revealed their presence ordering him to stand down and relinquish his weapon. When he refused after several requests and appeared to be preparing to fire on police and Castle, Esposito had taken the shot; killing Tyson instantly.

Castle was stunned by the rife eagerness of everyone to accept their story without even modest scrutiny as to its veracity. The consensus among those present was to celebrate the demise of a dangerous psychopath who had been stalking their city, and the story they had been told about how it had come to pass was as satisfactory as any; the end justifying the means.

What they didn't know was that Jackson Hunt, intelligence asset and father of Richard Castle, had used Espo's sniper rifle when he took the fatal shot ensuring that ballistics, should anyone bother to check, would support the story the team from the 12th precinct needed to tell. They also didn't know that OffKilter's escape had been just that; an escape resulting in a fatality to Hunt's team and Beckett's kidnapping. No one knew that Kate had been a hostage or that Castle had almost gotten himself killed trying to save her. All of that would be added to the covenant they forged when Montgomery died. No one outside of those present would ever know what really happened; that was how it had to be.

There were; however, two faces in the crowd whose skepticism was only thinly veiled: Agent Stack and Captain Gates. Their individual arrivals after the briefing had already begun left them as observers along with everyone else; a position both found disagreeable.

Espo and Ryan saw them first, "Looks like we're about to get called to the principal's office."

"Won't be the first time," Kevin uttered quietly.

Espo cut loose with a grin, "Or the last!"

Ryan met Espo's grin with one of his own, "I know, right?"

Castle walked up in time for the fist bumps, "What'd I miss?"

Espo indicated into the crowd where Stack and Gates stood listening and watching. "They don't look happy," he said announcing the obvious.

"Nope and you know what that means," Kevin shot Javi a knowing look.

He nodded, "Yep, we get to go home and Castle and Beckett get to deal with them."

"So glad I'm not you tonight, Castle," Kevin was shaking his head just thinking about it.

Espo butted in, "Sometimes it would be cool to be him though, bro."

"Yeah, but not tonight," Kevin pointed out. "Look at their faces."

"You're right, definitely not tonight," Espo readily agreed.

Stack and Gates had spotted Castle with Ryan and Espo standing off to the side of the briefing and had set a direct course to them.

"Remember, stay on script. Don't offer up any details; especially you Castle, and only answer questions they ask directly," Espo's reminder felt urgent.

"Got it," Ryan and Castle answered in unison.

Gates made sure she got to them first, "Mr. Castle, Esposito, Ryan good to see all of you in one piece."

The three exchanged glances not sure of Gates' angle. "It's good to be seen in one piece, sir," Castle answered for the group.

"Is that the weapon you used to take down 3XK?" Gates asked Espo eyeing the rifle he still held.

"Yes, sir, it is," Espo didn't blanch.

"I'll take it and be sure it makes it to ballistics," she held her hand out to receive the gun. "Did anyone else on the team fire a weapon?"

"No, sir," Castle and Ryan answered again in unison causing them to elbow one another good naturedly. In their heads they both yelled, "Jinx!"

About that time, Kate walked up to the group having finished her briefing, "The only other shots were fired by Jerry Tyson when he killed his brother with two to the head."

"Agent Beckett, is there anything you would like to tell me about why your team at the AG's office was not kept informed as to developments in this case? Exactly how long have you known that this hacker kid was Tyson's brother?" Stack was pissed, but trying to maintain his composure.

Kate looked him squarely in the eye, "Once we got to the safe house, things developed very rapidly and we had to move quickly before things got out of hand." All of that was absolutely true.

"So you are telling me that things were happening so fast that you couldn't notify your superiors of what you were planning to do?" Stack had closed the distance to Kate and was way beyond pissed now.

Castle was about to step in when Gates did, "Detective Beckett is required by NYPD protocol to keep her immediate supervisor informed of case developments, and unless I'm mistaken, under our agreement for this case with the AG's office, that is me."

Stack's earlier skepticism shifted to Gates, "Oh, so you knew about this operation?"

Kate, Castle and the boys were too surprised to speak; Gates was standing on railroad tracks and Stack was the train.

"I was kept informed to my satisfaction," Gates showed no signs of flinching.

Stack's face was crimson and a vein throbbed in his forehead, "Then why didn't you find it prudent to inform me of progress on this case? We were supposed to be working jointly."

This time Castle did step in, "My understanding was that the AG's office was here in strictly a support role."

Stack glared at Castle while an appreciative smile appeared behind Gates' eyes, "Agent Stack, my people have been dealing with 3XK for years. This man shot Mr. Castle in his own home, breached NYPD security countless times and committed five murders that we know of in the last few weeks. I made the decision to keep the loop need to know and you didn't make the loop."

Stack glowered at the group; it had obviously been a long time since he had been left out of anything, more or less the loop in a high profile case. Kate recalled his decision to not inform Gates of her presence on the AG team before their abrupt arrival; karma could be an evil bitch when she came back around.

"What about you Beckett?" Stack's question was asking more than it appeared. He was offering her a last chance to reconsider.

Kate caught Castle's gaze with eyes that were reassuring and betrayed no sign of doubt, "I appreciate the opportunity the AG's office gave me when they selected me for the position. At the time it looked like the opportunity of a lifetime."

Stack interrupted her, "It is, Beckett. Chances are something like this won't come your way again."

She smiled at him because she couldn't help it, "Maybe so, but when I left I made the decision with my head and I was miserable; to come home is a decision of the heart." Kate looked from Stack to Gates, Espo and Ryan and finally to Castle where her gaze tenderly rested, "And I know something like this won't ever come my way again and I'm not missing it."

Stack knew an unchangeable mind when he saw it and extended his hand, "I guess all I can do is wish you luck, Detective."

Kate shook his hand, "Thank you."

As he walked away, Kate called to him, "Hey, Stack, sometimes going home again is the only right thing you can do."

Stack stopped after a few more steps and looked back at Kate who was already walking away with her people. He watched her a moment more hoping that for her sake they saw what he did, a woman committed to an unparalleled path; one that given time would lead to forgiveness, redemption and reclamation of a future almost forfeit to a misguided decision and the many dominoes felled because of it.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

It was Jackson Hunt's turn to be nervous. When Richard had told him that Martha Rodgers was on a mission to meet with him, all the years between that night and this one diminished until he was back there with her on an evening that had started out like any other, but ended up being one he would never forget.

Castle who had been back at the safe house only long enough to tell his mother that Hunt was coming, met him out front in answer to an anxious text, "Wow, you cleaned up nice."

Hunt had showered and groomed his beard neatly. He wore simple black slacks and a dark blue collared shirt; he looked handsome, but uncomfortable.

"Thank you for doing this," Castle told him, "It means a lot to her; and to me."

"I've wanted to see her every day since the day I left, Richard," Hunt revealed.

Castle smiled at him in the dim porch light, "You do remember, Martha, right? A little dramatic, lives life drinking wine to the beat of her own drummer, sports an Auntie Mame kinda vibe?"

Hunt laughed deeply and it relaxed him a bit, "That's exactly who I remember, son."

"Then, let's do this," Castle opened the door and Jackson Hunt walked into the room.

Martha had dressed for the occasion. If nothing else the man was going to eat his heart out for at least another twenty years for missing out on her. She looked elegant in a sleeveless lace sheath dress that outlined her form in stunning detail and stopped just above the knee. The cool jade hue with her striking red hair pulled the look together.

Jackson and Martha stood staring at one another while Castle found it difficult not to do the same. This was the first time in his entire life that he and both his parents were in the same room. If he didn't know what to say in the moment; he wondered how they possibly could.

Hunt broke the silence like a gentleman, "Martha, you look beautiful."

His father's words released Castle from his thoughts and he quietly crossed and slipped from the room leaving them to a reunion that had been so long in the making.

"I don't even know what to call you," Martha's hands shook slightly. "I'm assuming the name you gave me that night wasn't real."

Hunt took a few steps closer to her, "Richard knows me as Jackson Hunt. That would probably be the easiest."

Martha nodded, "Alright then, Jackson. Would you like some wine?"

"Sure," he took a seat on the couch while she poured the glasses.

When she handed him his their fingers touched, "I owe you an explanation."

She pulled her hand away quickly, but sat down beside him, "You don't owe me anything. You didn't then and you don't now. We had only just met."

The quiver in her voice betrayed her, "I don't know exactly what you've been told, but I stayed away to keep you and Richard and then Alexis safe. The life I was living was a danger to yours that I couldn't subject you to. I picked this life; you didn't."

Martha's voice sounded far away, "I could just never understand what I did or how I could be so wrong about someone. I was angry at you for a very long time."

He took a risk and reached for Martha's free hand, "You had every right to be. I just disappeared without a word. And you weren't wrong. I fell in love with you that night, Martha. I never thought that would happened to me."

Tears were threatening, but she held them at bay, "You broke my heart, Jackson, but when I gave birth to Richard, I was able to let go of the anger because you had given me the most precious gift of my life. It wasn't easy doing it alone, but it was the best thing I've ever done."

"I checked on you when I got back here a year later and I knew he was mine. I've kept an eye on you two ever since," Hunt's eyes looked at her the same way he had that night. "You did an amazing job with him; he's a man a father can be proud of. Because of you I have a son and a granddaughter. I don't know how to thank you for that."

Tears slipped down her cheeks cleansing the past, "Because of you I still have my granddaughter and my son. I guess that makes us even."

Guilt covered Hunt's face, "Alexis and Richard were only in danger because of me."

Martha squeezed his hand, "But you brought them back home safely."

"Do you ever think about what might have been?" Martha asked him simply.

"Every day, Martha, every day," he answered earnestly.

The two sat back on the couch to finish their wine; their hands touching and finger tips intertwined. It was a moment they had waited a lifetime for where a simple question and an earnest answer brought two troubled hearts some closure.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Kate was waiting for him when he entered the room, "How's it going out there?"

Castle had a strange look on his face, "It's just so weird."

"How so?" Kate was drying her hair with a towel having just gotten out of a hot shower.

"I've never seen my parents together before," his voice was wistful.

"That must have been a powerful moment," Kate dropped the towel on the bed and went to him.

"It was surreal," he admitted. Castle breathed her in, "God, you smell good."

There was something about her fresh out of a shower that pulled at him every time. He gazed into her face with longing he knew she couldn't miss and she whispered to him, "I want you, Castle." His actions that night in the first safe house we're not a barrier for her and she needed him to know that.

Instantly, he knew what it was; the first night they had been together, she had come to his door showered by the rain and that same fusion of water, perfume, soap and her came rushing back to him.

Kate had thrown on an old Batman t-shirt of Castles that he had left at her apartment before she moved to DC. It was ripped at the neck and was big enough on her that it slipped invitingly off one shoulder and was long enough where he couldn't tell if she had anything on underneath.

Castle was still decked out in his black night operation fatigues though he had put his guns away so he didn't frighten his mother or Alexis. Kate was smiling intensely at him, her eyes dancing with whatever she was thinking.

Castle was curious, "What's that look for?"

Kate sat on the bed leaning back on her elbows looking him up and down, "I find that hot."

Castle chuckled, "Is that so?"

She nodded biting her lower lip in that way she did when she wanted something, "Yes, it is."

Castle's face clouded, "Kate, what is this exactly?"

Kate could see his confidence in them was shaky, "It's Rick and Kate 2.0."

He sat down beside her looking ill at ease, "Rick tell me what you're thinking. No more secrets, remember?" Kate's tone was gentle.

"I'm scared of what happens next. I know that doesn't go well with my outfit…" Castle's voice faded out.

She smiled at him warmly, "As hot as you look in it, I'd prefer you out of it anyway."

He managed a laugh and his face cleared a bit, "I meant what I said earlier."

Kate waited for him.

"I love you, Kate; always have. Even at the worst moments, even when I was with someone else; it has always been you. It's been you since the day we met," Castle seemed relieved when he finally got it all out.

"If you're not ready for more yet, that's okay. I told you, I'll wait as long as it takes," Kate would tell him a thousand times if that's what he needed from her.

He reached up and gently pushed her hair behind her ear so he could see her face, "What do you really want from me?"

"Everything; I want everything," Kate laid back on the bed watching him; giving him the space to choose.

As he stared at her, heat surged through him and his chest tightened. He wanted her; there was no doubt about that. She truly was his weakness; but she was also his strength and with her at his side he had felt anything was possible. He wanted that feeling back, but the question was did he want it badly enough to truly forgive her? If he did, he had to be willing to let it all go: the sins of omission, the rejection of his proposal, leaving him to find something more… If he was going to hold on to even one resentment, he might as well walk away now.

Kate was watching him and he was captured by the look on her face and in her eyes. Nothing was hidden from him, he didn't have to try and read or figure out what was going on with her. How she felt about him and what she wanted was right there like words on a page; easy and uncomplicated.

Kate's calm exterior melted as a wave of almost tangible electricity passed between them. Castle physically reacted so she knew he felt it too. He crawled up beside her; lying on his side resting his body against hers. She kissed him gently on the cheek just at the point where the corner of his lips peaked into a smile.

Castle broke the contact and got up suddenly from the bed. He walked to the window they had been staring out of the night before and began taking off his clothes and dropping them in a pile on the floor. All she could do was wait and see what his decision would be and then accept it; for tonight.

"I need a shower," his voice was gentle but his face gave away nothing as he went into the bathroom.

Kate listened as he turned on the water, visualizing each motion of him washing his body, his hair. She allowed herself the luxury of reliving times when she had joined him in the shower or he had surprised her. Those moments and others like them were so easy for her to access now, when before she had kept the most intimate ones locked away so they couldn't influence her decisions; her future. How stupid she had been. Those were the very moments that should have been driving her choices all along. They were certainly the ones driving her now.

When the shower stopped, her ache for him had not diminished. She smelled the man in him before the freshness of the soap. She bit her lower lip again in response. The light went off in the bathroom leaving the room lit only by moonlight from the window. He sat down beside her in just his boxers. She still didn't know what his answer would be; she was still willing to accept his decision. Kate closed her eyes momentarily to steady herself when she felt his mouth on hers, she released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, he had chosen them.

Her hands went to his face and hair pulling him closer. The tension in his body matched hers. Their breathing rose and fell in tandem as he lay down on top of her; their kisses becoming deeper and more demanding. Kate groaned softly; his hands slid the t-shirt down her body and discarded it with the pile of his clothes on the floor.

"Castle," she whispered as she pulled him back to her. His skin was still hot from the shower; the heat between them conducting across every nerve and synapse.

Castle had settled across her; her legs relaxed at his hips. He kissed her neck and her response was to throw her head back to give him access, he didn't think he had ever wanted her more than he did right then and the way she was moving against him, he knew that she felt the same.

Kate's arms clasped him to her, her fingers dug into his shoulders. Castle waited for the moment that his eyes found hers and her mouth was intertwined with his; and only then did he complete the connection. Kate responded by rising up against him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in as closely as she could take.

Tonight he could love her; his anger having lost its grip on his heart. He felt a moment of shame that he could have ever treated her the way he had the other night. Tonight he would begin making some amends of his own.

"I love you, Kate" he said it because he had to; not out of guilt, but because Rick and Kate 2.0 didn't hold back.

He saw Kate's answer in her eyes, but stopped kissing her long enough to hear the words, "I love you, Rick."

And finally, those three little words that had eluded their grasp for so long, would help them heal, and forgive, and eventually trust; allowing them to abandon the parallel paths they traveled separately for one that would allow their journey to continue together; ALWAYS.


	41. Chapter 41

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 41

It had been hours since Esposito and Ryan had been cleared to leave the crime scene. They had not headed home, but to a tavern they visited only when they needed the kind of drinks that dulled the senses and provided an atmosphere that offered anonymity.

"Cheers, bro," Javi offered up his glass.

"Salute," Kevin replied.

"Wasn't sure how this one was going to end," Javi's thoughts turned into words.

Kevin threw back his shot and indicated two more to the bartender, "We all made it through, bro, that's what matters."

"Barely," Javi let his shot sweetly burn the back of his throat as he finished it off.

"Think the world is going to buy the 3XK fairy tale?" Kevin had a few lingering doubts.

Javi didn't, "All anyone cares about is that there's one less psycho in the world to worry about. They could give a rat's ass how he left it or who put the slug in his fucked up skull."

Kevin quieted and seemed to be drifting through troubling thoughts, "Do you think Castle will still be Castle after all this?"

The quick yaw in the conversation tripped Javi up, "What kind of question is that? Castle will bounce back. He's like a bad penny; just keeps turning up."

Kevin smiled briefly, "I just want things to be the way they were." Kevin wondered if who his friend had been would end up being collateral damage to the events of the last five months.

"The way things were before or after Beckett left?" Javi had a feeling.

"So, she's back to stay," Kevin finally said what was on his mind and the reason they were sitting in this dive of a bar in the first place.

"She told me in observation when you went to stop Gates from calling the FEDs," Espo took his new drink, but sipped it this time.

"You okay with this? Everything is going to change again," Ryan was gazing straight ahead at nothing.

Javi stared at his partner's profile, "You two haven't really had a chance to talk, bro."

Ryan looked at him through eyes that were slightly hazy from alcohol, "So, you have one conversation with her and all is forgiven? What about what she did to Castle?"

"Castle's a grown man, bro. He doesn't need us to fight his battles for him or make judgments about his decisions; we're his partners and our job is to be there no matter what," Espo was at a place now where he could see both of them as his friends again.

"What does that make, Kate?" Kevin asked.

Javi thought for a moment, "Remains to be seen, bro, remains to be seen."

Kevin wasn't quite there, "What if she hurts him again; hurts the team?"

"We have to trust that she won't and we're there for each other if she does," Javi understood his partner's reticence. "You can't deny what they have, bro, personally or professionally."

You could see Kevin trying to come to terms with his ambivalence, "He needs her."

Javi wouldn't let him get away with that half truth, "He loves her, man."

Acknowledgment slid into Ryan's gut with the next shot, "So who do you think is going to be running things; mom or dad?"

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Kate arrived at the morgue before Lanie; that had to be a first. She flipped on the lights and started water to heat for her friend's morning tea. When she was at a loss for anything else to do while she waited, she sat down on a rolling stool and her mind went directly to him. Her thoughts warmed her from the inside out and a smile transformed her face bringing a glow to her eyes.

"Well, at least one of us had some fun last night," Lanie took one look at her friend as she walked in the door and knew.

Kate flushed not with embarrassment, but with what was becoming a persistent hunger now that her mind had surrendered to everything Castle meant to her. The old Kate would have made a deflective comment about having been with Castle, but not Kate 2.0, "Jealous much?"

Lanie gave Kate an amused look, "Touché my friend."

Kate spun around once on the rolling stool grinning happily, "It was amazing. He was amazing; we were…"

Lanie cut her off smiling at her, "Let me guess, amazing?"

"I can't stop smiling like some kind of idiot," Kate admitted. "It's starting to make my face hurt," she rubbed her cheeks to make the point.

Lanie had made her tea while Kate was talking and pulled up a stool next to her, "So, things are better I take it?"

Kate nodded, "They are. We still have things to work out, but he's open to listening and the anger is a lot better."

"It has to help that 3XK is finally in that drawer over there," Lanie indicated where he was being stored prior to autopsy.

Kate rested her eyes on the one she knew held the killer's remains, "It does, Lanie, especially Castle." Kate's mind drifted back to the confrontation with Tyson; Castle having come for her; willing to die for her and her own nightmare that he would.

Lanie could see there was something else, "However?"

Kate's eyes were eclipsed by her thoughts, "He's still avoiding the loft. We could have gone back last night, but he wasn't ready."

"That could take some time. The trauma from that night is going to be around a long time and will probably show up in ways that you don't expect," Lanie couldn't even imagine what going back to the scene of the attack was like for Castle.

Kate answered almost absently, "The two sessions he's had with Burke seem to be helping though."

"I still can't believe Castle is seeing the same shrink that you did?" Lanie was astounded. "That's a move I never thought I'd see the Kate Beckett I know make."

Kate knew what she was getting at and made a face at her that said so, "Well, get ready, this new Kate Beckett is going to blow you away with her new moves."

Kate's smile had returned and Lanie was hoping she wasn't getting ahead of herself. Castle had been through serious physical and mental trauma and might not be ready for everything that Kate seemed like she now was, "So was last night the first time you two were together since you've been back?"

Kate looked at her quizzically, "Does it matter?"

"It's not, is it?" Lanie guessed. "So, new move Kate, you gonna answer my question or scurry back to old Kate ways and avoid it?"

Lanie had called her out and Kate needed to put up or shut up, "No, it wasn't the first time."

"There's something you're not telling me," Kate hadn't changed enough for Lanie not to know that.

Kate had not wanted to go into what happened at the first safe house; not with Lanie, not with anyone. Except for the talk she and Castle had in the van about what happened, she had kept the incident as far from her conscious mind as possible. She'd recognized his actions for what they were and even where they came from, but that's where her analysis had stopped. What Kate hadn't done was look at why it had been alright with her; why she had been so willing to accept his actions and ignore their implications.

"A few days ago, Castle woke up in the middle of the night. I was already up and having a glass of wine in the other room. He came looking for me," Kate paused and took a breath.

"And then," Lanie prompted her to continue.

"I thought he was having a PTSD episode, and I think he really was at first. He was behaving so strangely it was hard for me to tell," Kate was back in the safe house with him.

Lanie was disturbed about where this was going, "Kate, what aren't you telling me?"

Kate had looked down allowing her hair to shroud her face, "He wasn't himself, Lanie."

"What happened between you two?" her concern was becoming alarm.

Kate struggled to find words that wouldn't sound quite as bad as what was in her head, "He was really aggressive and controlling."

Lanie cut her off, "Did he hurt you?"

Kate was quick to dispel that idea, "No, no he didn't hurt me. He would never do that."

Lanie relaxed, but only slightly, "Then what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I wanted to be with him again so badly that night that I didn't care what was motivating him," putting words to her feelings about that night for the first time hurt.

Lanie thought she understood and reached out to take Kate's hand, "Oh, Kate."

"I knew what was happening, Lanie, and I didn't stop him; I didn't want him to stop," Kate was obviously conflicted.

"Have you talked to Castle about how you're feeling about this?" Lanie was gentle.

Kate shook her head, "He felt badly about it the next day. He apologized and admitted that he was wrong."

"What did you say to him?"

"That it was okay and that I knew what was happening and that I hadn't cared," Kate hesitated. "I didn't tell him what I just told you."

Lanie caught Kate's gaze, "You know you're going to have to, don't you?"

Kate didn't answer, "Do you really think keeping something like this to yourself is going to help you build the life with him you say you want?"

Kate knew Lanie was right, "I'm done keeping things from him. I have to tell him."

"Tonight," Lanie encouraged.

"Tonight," she agreed.

Kate had anticipated that there would be many challenges to her resolve to share what she would rather keep hidden; she just hadn't expected the first one to come for her so soon.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Castle had remained at the safe house after Kate had gone in early to the precinct; there were family issues to attend. Besides needing to move his mother back to the loft and see Alexis back to school, there was Jackson Hunt; his father.

Castle had placed his and Beckett's bags by the door. He turned to see Alexis bringing hers toward him, "Good morning, Alexis; ready to get back to school?"

She smiled weakly as she handed her bags over to her father, "Is it really over this time?"

"Oh, honey, yes, it is," Castle understood her question. She thought it had been over before.

He opened his arms wide to her and she stepped into that place in her world she had always found safest, "Is he gone already?"

Castle knew who she was asking about, "No, he isn't. He came to see Gram last night and is coming by this morning to…"

Alexis finished the sentence herself, "He's coming to say goodbye."

Castle looked at his little girl hating to see her in pain, "We'll see him again someday, sweetheart."

Alexis looked into her father's face, "When? The next time you and Beckett get yourselves into trouble that you can't get out of?"

Castle hadn't seen that one coming, "Alexis, what's this about; your grandfather leaving or me and Beckett?"

A stubborn face that Castle knew well was looking back at him, "Both, I guess."

"At least that was honest," Castle gave her some credit.

"Tyson's dead. The case is over. What happens now?" Alexis was asking the question without asking it.

Castle knew what she really wanted to know, "Kate is not going back to DC, Alexis."

She tried to hide her reaction, but it stole across her eyes, "Is she back at the 12th with you?"

"We haven't had that conversation yet, but she has resigned from the AG's office and been reinstated by the NYPD," Castle told her what he knew to be true.

"Do you want her to come back to the 12th? If she does will you continue to work there with her?" the kid knew how to cut straight to the chase.

"That's a really complicated issue," it was a deflection, but it was also the truth.

"Dad, I've seen how good she can be for you. I'm even willing to admit that there have been times she was the only one who could reach you, but you can't forget how bad things were when it all went wrong. I'm really trying to be on board with this; with you being with her again, but I can't say I'm finding it easy," Alexis' ability to share so honestly awed and impressed her father.

Castle pulled her into another hug, "Does it help that it's not easy for me either?"

"Not really," again the honesty.

Castle smiled in spite of himself releasing his daughter so he could look at her, "I would give you the answers you're looking for if I had them. All I can tell you is that she is my once in a lifetime, and I have to give us every chance to make it work. I'm sorry, but that's all I've got right now."

"I love you, dad, and I want you to be happy and if it's with Kate, I'll keep working on it," Alexis promised.

A knock at the door ended the conversation much to the relief of both.

"I got it," Alexis knew who it was.

Jackson Hunt caught his granddaughter in his arms as though he had been doing it all his life, "Hey, there kiddo." The smile on Alexis' face was both heartwarming and wrenching to Hunt; he was here to say his goodbyes.

As Castle shut the door, the family of three became four, "There you all are. Richard, would you be a dear and get my bags?" Martha saw Hunt only after she looked up from clasping her bracelet.

"Martha, stunning as always," Alexis and Castle stared openly as the two connected across the room.

"Jackson, still charming," Martha crossed to him and kissed him on the cheek.

"This is so weird," Alexis whispered to her dad.

"That's what I said," Castle whispered back.

"You two stop gawking and close your mouths," Martha admonished them. Hunt chuckled.

"Sorry Gram," Alexis caught her dad's eye and mouthed the word weird again.

Hunt began the conversation that had brought him there, "I'm glad everyone is still here. I was hoping to see each of you before I headed out."

Castle spoke for a room that had suddenly gone quiet, "We were hoping you would make it by."

Alexis hugged her grandfather again, "I'm glad I get the chance to thank you this time. I'm not going to say goodbye because I've decided to just look forward to the next time we see each other." Alexis kissed him on the cheek and looked into eyes very much like her own father's and said, "See you later."

Castle opened the door for Alexis who grabbed her bags and gave her grandfather one last wistful look, "You bet."

Castle had been about to say his own goodbyes when Martha intervened, "Thank you for coming to the aid of our son. He's safe now because of you; I will forever be grateful to you for that."

Hunt took both of her hands in his, "The fact that I was finally able to do something for you both that mattered is thanks enough."

A brilliant silence like those Castle experienced only with Kate consumed the energy in the room; Castle would not be the one to shatter it.

Martha finally did, "It has been one of the great pleasures of my life to see you again, Jackson. I hope this wasn't our last hurrah." Her gentle kiss on his lips her last word.

"She still knows how to make an exit," Hunt said after she was gone.

Castle smiled warmly, "That she does."

This farewell was harder than the one in Paris. Since then one of them had been cornered at the brink of death and the other had come to his defense. Together they had rescued the damsel in distress and prevailed over a common adversary. They had sat and talked about their lives and their women over beers; they had become father and son.

"I guess this is it," Castle didn't know what else to say.

"I guess it is, son," Hunt was in the same leaky boat.

"Thank you just doesn't seem like enough."

"We're family, Richard, it's what families do for each other," Hunt hugged him fiercely, released him and turned to the door. "Piece of advice son, do whatever it takes to get your detective back if she's the one. Don't end up like your old man spending your days wondering if only." As the door shut behind Jackson Hunt, intelligence asset, father and grandfather, Castle thought to himself that Martha Rodgers wasn't the only one who knew how to make an exit.


	42. Chapter 42

_**A/N Not sure what got in to me today – decided to address a couple of issues while poking the Caskette Tiger just a little…. It was fun to write… take a couple of deep breaths and dive in… **_

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 42

When Castle arrived at the precinct, he felt like it had already been a long day. He had managed to get everyone moved out of the safe house and back where they needed to be; Alexis was at school and Martha at the loft. Jackson Hunt was, well, wherever he was. What Castle hadn't known was where he needed to be, so his things were still in his trunk along with Kate's.

Castle was checking his Twitter feed as he stepped off the elevator into the squad room. When he looked up to greet the boys, he stopped short.

"There he is. We told you he wouldn't be too much longer," Kevin announced through a forced smile.

"Hey, Castle," Detective Allison McMurphy was sitting in his chair and had obviously been waiting for him to arrive.

Javi glared at Castle openly never really having been on board with his involvement with the detective from the 9th in the first place, "Yeah, hey, Castle."

Castle shot Espo a warning glance, "Allie." She got up from his chair and they looked at one another the way only those who have been intimate at one time can. Between the four of them, it was difficult to tell who was the most uncomfortable.

"I was hoping we could talk," Allie had come to see him, so she took the initiative.

"Ah, yeah, of course," Castle's thoughts about her being there were jumbled and difficult to funnel into something usable. "Let's talk in here," Castle indicated an empty office next to Gates'.

Allie walked ahead of Castle toward the door; the boys staring after them so hard that Castle could almost feel their eyes boring into his back.

Allie didn't waste any time after the door shut behind them, "I heard about 3XK; that your team took him out."

Castle tried to ignore the eyes he knew were following his every move through the windows, "Yes, we got a lucky break and were able to track him to that farmhouse. Esposito took the shot." Castle was temporarily distracted by how easily those lies had come out of his mouth.

"You and Beckett were in the house with him?" Allie had done her homework and the question refocused him.

He remembered Espo's warning; stay on script, no details and only answer questions you are asked directly. "And Ryan; he was in the house too," Castle was anxious and it showed, so he took a seat on the edge of the desk behind him.

"Sounds like it was a pretty dangerous situation," Allie's affectionate tone made her concern for Castle feel borderline intimate.

All Rick could think was that she had no idea, but he only said, "Tyson was a dangerous man; it kind of came with the crazy."

Allie took a couple of steps closer to where Rick sat on the edge of the desk, "How's the chest?" He had thought for a moment that she was going to reach out and touch him.

Her sudden shift in tone and proximity raised Castle's guard, "Healing slowly. I've kind of been overdoing it." Thoughts of last night with Kate came to mind.

"The case is over. What happens now?" her eyes were searching his looking for something.

He knew why she had come, "Allie, there's something you should know."

Allie held his gaze even though his was reserved, "Okay, sure."

"Beckett isn't going back to DC. She's left the AG's office and rejoined the NYPD," Castle didn't want this to drag out now that he understood what was really going on.

Allie's emotions were all over her face, "Is she coming back to the 12th?"

Castle's response was immediate and he knew when he said it that it was true, "I hope so."

Allie paled, "You two back together?"

Castle glanced down at his hands as he tried to find words that were honest, yet sensitive, "Allie, you were right. Kate and I, we're not done. I don't know if we are going to be able to put everything back together or not, but I know I have to try."

Allie's eyes were brimming with tears, "I had to try too. I thought that if she went back to DC, we might be able to pick up where we left off. Things were good for us before she came back."

Castle stood not knowing how to make this easier for her, "I'm sorry that I hurt you; I never meant for this to happen."

Castle needed to take responsibility for the mess he had made, "I made a mistake. I never should have gotten involved with someone so quickly after Kate and I broke up. It wasn't fair to you and it was wrong of me."

"You mean after Kate left you, don't you?" Allie was hurt and if she needed to lash out, so be it.

"Allie, you told me that you wanted to find someone who feels about you the way I feel about her. You deserve that and you're going to find it. It's just not going to be with me," Castle didn't want to leave any doubt where his loyalty was; with Kate.

"I have to ask, Rick. You're in love with her?" Allie fought to keep her voice steady.

There was only one answer he could give her, "Always have been."

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Kate strode into the squad room and her attention was immediately drawn to Espo and Ryan. Espo was standing behind his desk with his arms crossed and Ryan was sitting on the corner of it; both were staring at something. When Kate rounded the corner, she saw what it was and she stared too.

"Hey, Beckett," they greeted her, but kept staring.

Kate had trouble finding words, "What is she doing here?"

Kevin was asked a question, so he answered it, "Was here when I got in this morning; waiting for Castle."

Javi cuffed Kevin in the back of the head, but Kevin continued, "I wonder what they're talking about? They've been in there a while."

Kate wanted to throw something at him, "It looks pretty intense. How did Castle react to seeing her?"

Javi gave Ryan a look that told him he better keep his trap shut, "He definitely wasn't expecting her."

"Was he happy to see her?" Kate was now standing next to Espo, but sideways so it wouldn't look like she was watching them.

"I wouldn't say he was happy, no, not happy," Kevin felt Javi's eyes on him.

"Definitely not happy," Javi reinforced.

Kevin hopped off the edge of the desk and began scribbling on a piece of paper trying to look busy, "They're coming out!"

Javi pretended that he had just received a text message.

Kate turned and walked toward her desk which put her right in the path of Allie and Castle coming back into the room, "Ahh, hey, guys," Kate didn't know what else to say.

"Detective Beckett," Allie was subdued, but made full eye contact with Kate for one second. "Kevin, tell Jenny I'll give her a call next week about the baby shower."

"Will do," he answered quickly and went back to his fake work.

Allie turned back to Castle, "Take care of yourself, Rick. I wish you the best of luck."

Castle wished her the same; he really did, "You too."

The minute the elevator doors closed Castle grabbed Kate by the hand and pulled her into the office he had just come out of.

Espo looked chagrined, "We should bug that office."

"We really should," Kevin agreed.

"I know you are probably upset," Castle began.

"Upset? Why would I be upset, Castle? I come in to work and find you having a really intense conversation with your ex-girlfriend," Kate was fully aware that she was being unreasonable, but she couldn't seem to help it.

"Hang on, Rick 2.0 has something to say," Castle smiled at her warmly.

"Ok, say it," Kate hated being jealous.

"Allie came to see me because she heard about 3XK," Castle was determined to do this right.

"I highly doubt that," Kate muttered.

Castle ignored her and continued, "After a couple of minutes, I realized why she was really here."

"To see if she could get you back," anxiety rippled through her.

"I told her that you were here to stay," Castle cut to the chase.

"Here as in New York?" Kate was still fighting her jealousy.

"Yes, but not just that," Castle was smiling broadly. "She asked if you were going to be here at the 12th."

"We haven't talked about that yet," Kate knew that conversation was coming.

"But I had my answer, Kate. I knew what I wanted the minute she asked me," Castle had become almost animated.

Kate eyed him carefully, "And that is?"

"I hope so, that's what I told her," Castle was grinning like that little kid Kate found so irresistible.

"You hope so?" Kate didn't quite get it.

"I do want you to come back to the 12th. I didn't know how I felt about it until she asked me. There was no hesitation; it just came out," Castle was excited and wanted Kate to be as well.

Castle took her lack of reaction as a bad thing, "But maybe you don't want to come back."

That snapped Kate out of it, "Oh, Castle, no, that's not it. I do want to come back here; more than anything."

"Then what's wrong?" Castle looked scared.

Kate threw her arms around his neck, "I was afraid to have this conversation, but it turned out okay. We're okay. Even if you hadn't wanted me to come back here, we'd have still been okay."

Castle wrapped his arms around her; his smile returning, "We can do this, Kate."

Kate kissed him, "I have to tell you something, Castle."

"I'm ready," Castle encouraged.

"When I saw you with Allie, I was really, really jealous," Kate had never admitted such a thing to any man; ever.

Castle rested his forehead against hers, "I know. It was kinda scary."

They both laughed and Castle pulled Kate in for another kiss after checking to see that Gates still hadn't made it in yet.

Outside in the squad room, Kevin held his hand out and Javi handed him a twenty, "How'd you know, bro?"

Kevin leaned back in his chair and watched Castle kissing Beckett, "Some things are undeniable, bro, and I've realized that they're one of them."


	43. Chapter 43

_**A/N Well, my friends – this is it. The last chapter – **__**The epilogue will be the final post to the story. **_

_**My thanks for your interest and support seem hardly sufficient - but please know you have them. -K**_

Decisions and Dominoes Chapter 43

The rest of the day was less than uneventful. For Castle it was almost physically painful since it was filled with the paperwork that he had not been able to completely avoid helping with after Kate left. In his efforts to be a better version of himself after Kate's departure, he had begun helping with the tedious duty on his own and once he did that; he felt compelled to continue.

Kate was impressed that Castle was actually doing some of it, but more amused by the way he went about it. He groused almost continuously and was like a kid without his ADHD meds, popping out of his seat at the least provocation. The boys had clearly fallen into the habit of redirecting Castle back to the task at hand without missing a beat or interrupting what they were doing. Their interactions had a flow to them that was easy and ripe with the camaraderie that made up their "bromance"; it was seamless really and Kate was gratified to think that at least something good had come out of all of this.

Castle was working at the corner of Ryan's desk; his back to Kate. She found that she didn't mind that he was still hanging with the boys for now because it gave her a chance to observe him. Yes, he was still the Castle who had managed to steal her heart with his charm, wit and persistence; but there were nuances to him now that were foreign to her.

Kate's conversation with Lanie drifted back to her. Castle had definitely been a foreign entity to her when he stepped out of the bedroom looking for her that night; a singular purpose in mind. She still wasn't sure how she was going to reopen a conversation she had led him to believe was closed and a non-issue or how to communicate to him that she had indeed been hurt by it.

Castle turned to look at Kate having perceived that her attention was not on her paperwork, but on him. She was watching him; chewing on the end of her pen. The look on her face was thoughtful and her eyes fearlessly reflective of the love she felt for him. He wasn't yet accustomed to seeing her feelings for him so readily on her face and their impact drove him way beyond distraction, "Shall we get a coffee, Detective Beckett?"

Ryan and Espo glanced at one another; neither was tempted to redirect Castle back to his paperwork this time.

Kate answered him by beating him to the break room, "Off your game today, Beckett?"

Castle's teasing tone and self-satisfied smirk when he caught her mired in him was another thing Kate had missed desperately, "You really believe I was thinking about you, Castle?" Kate's smile emanated through her eyes.

"Umm, yes, yes I do, detective," Kate finished and handed over the first coffee to him, their fingers touching and lingering longer than they had to on the hand off.

"Well, I've got news for you," Kate paused for emphasis, "I wasn't thinking about you."

Castle's brow furrowed, but his smile remained as if he didn't believe her, "I was thinking about us; last night; all four times."

Kate watched transfixed as the hue of Castle's blue eyes actually deepened in response, "That gets me thinking."

Kate finished making her coffee and leaned against the counter in no hurry to get back to her desk and the mountain of paperwork that the Tyson case and her return to the NYPD had generated, "About?"

"Tonight," Castle's one word answer to her one word query left a great deal open to interpretation.

Kate licked the coffee off the stir stick she had been using as she answered him, "What are you thinking?"

Castle swallowed hard having tracked her every movement with the wooden stir, "I was wondering what your plans are?" Every night they had spent together since she returned had been a product of either need or necessity; tonight they each had a choice.

Kate stepped closer to him, covering the hand he had resting on the counter with her own, "I want to be wherever you are. You okay with that?"

Castle had braced himself for the possibility that she might withdraw from him now that the danger was passed; instead, she had made it clear that being with him was what she wanted, "I'm great with that."

Kate needed to ask the question that was still hanging out there unaddressed, "My place or yours?"

The shift in him was so dramatic that Kate almost regretted asking; but only almost. How they handled the hard questions would be more telling than anything else in their relationship and they both knew it.

Kate thought she felt Castle's hand tremor beneath hers, "I guess it's time for me to go home."

Castle's words and the emotions playing across his face were drastically misaligned, "Just because the monster is dead, it doesn't mean you're ready to go back to where it all took place."

Castle ran an anxious hand through his hair trying to come to terms and a decision.

Kate shook loose from the resistance that pulled at her to tell him something she had kept intensely private until now, "I still haven't been to Montgomery's grave since the shooting."

Castle's attention was drawn back to Kate's face, "You haven't?"

She shook her head, "And I've tried. I've made it all the way to the cemetery, but I haven't been able to get out of the car."

The tremor in his hand subsided and she closed her fingers around it and held on. "Maybe we can do it together; when you're ready," he offered with gratitude in his voice. He knew what it had taken for her to share that with him.

"I'd like that," her voice dropped to just above a whisper as she touched the place within where her demons still lived.

Castle's anxiety about making the decision disintegrated; he found her admission freed him from any fear of judgment, "Your place?"

Their eyes locked; sparks flew across the meager space that remained between them; energy freely transferring back and forth, "We're going to have to get some food though. There's absolutely nothing at my place for us to eat."

Castle eagerly grabbed on to the release that Kate offered him with her words, "My dad and I drank all your beer."

The couple walked out of the break room and back to Kate's desk. As she sat down, Kate and Rick noticed that Castle's chair was back beside her desk; they had seen it at the same time and their stares had synced in joint surprise.

Ryan and Espo sat at their desks not pretending to work, not readying their next one liner, but pleased with themselves having demonstrated their acceptance and support the best way they knew how. Some moments being too extraordinary for words; everyone got back to work.

-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

It was a relief all around when five o'clock came and went and the team had not caught a case. Kevin was the first one to head for the elevator, "I'm going home to my pregnant wife, guys; goodnight."

Javi was anxious to be on his way as well and followed his partner, "I'm out too. Night, guys. Kev, wait up!"

With the boys gone, it didn't take long for Castle to notice that Kate had something on her mind. As they finished up the last of their paper work, her thoughts had taken an inward turn unnoticed by him, "Hey, everything okay?"

The question roused Kate from wherever she had been, "Yeah, everything is fine." Kate wondered if that answer counted as deflection,"No, wait, there's something I want us to talk about tonight, but not here."

"Can you at least tell me what it's about?" he looked concerned.

Kate refused to allow herself to evade a direct question from him, "It's about the other night."

"At the safe house," he finished her thought as a statement; not a question. It was as if the topic had been weighing on his mind too.

She nodded pensively as he replied, "Of course we can. I think we should. The conversation in the van didn't afford much in the way of privacy."

With that settled, Kate suggested, "Let's follow Ryan and Espo's lead and get out of here."

"I am on board with that," Castle grabbed his jacket and helped Kate with hers.

"Should we hit the store on the way to my place or do you want to get take out tonight and shop tomorrow?" Kate adjusted her pace to his when she felt Castle's hand slip into the small of her back; gently guiding them to the elevator. Kate found that she really, really liked it when he did that; it made a statement she wanted everyone to hear, they were together.

"I hate to say this, but I need to go by the loft. My mother left me a voice mail. Apparently one of her bags is still in my trunk and she needs it," Castle was apologetic that this side trip was going to make their day longer.

Kate grabbed onto his arm with both hands and leaned into him as they entered the elevator, "That works out fine. We can grab some more clothes for you while we're there."

Castle gently kissed Kate's head as it rested on his shoulder, "I like the sound of that."

She did too.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Traffic had been horrible at 5:00 and by the time they arrived at the loft the early evening light was filtering through the windows leaving areas of the place shimmering in the fading sunlight and others shrouded in deep shadows. This didn't go unnoticed by Kate and she determined that the best plan of action was to get in and out in the least amount of time possible. Castle's decision for them to stay at her place let her know; he wasn't ready to be there.

Martha was still at her acting studio so Richard wanted to put the heavy bag in her room, "Beckett, will you grab some things for me? I don't want my mom to have to carry this up the stairs."

"Of course," that fed right into her plan to have Castle out of there quickly.

Several minutes later, it dawned on Kate that Castle hadn't come to join her in the bedroom to help pick out the clothes he wanted to take with him. She listened carefully and didn't hear him moving around either causing her to drop what she was doing and look for him. Kate found him in the first place she looked; his office.

"Damn it," Kate cursed under her breath as she entered the room carefully in case he should startle.

Castle began talking as soon as she arrived beside him. "He was so angry with me. In his mind I had betrayed him. He used his control over me to lash out; to punish me," Castle tone was distant, but he was still present.

"Rick, you don't need to be in here," Kate wanted him out of that room.

"Yes, I do," his voice adamant.

Kate stood in front of him making him look at her, "What's really going on?"

Guilt coated his face as he spoke, "What I did to you that night wasn't so different from what he did to me, Kate."

"Castle, you're nothing like him." Kate begged him, "Look at me."

He tried, but shame wouldn't let him, "You're wrong. I felt betrayed by you, and I was so angry; I used my anger and physical strength to control you; to punish you."

"I wanted to be with you that night, it just hurt that we weren't in it for the same reason. Castle, I never asked you to stop," Kate reminded him.

He finally looked at her and he was frightened, "What if you had?"

"You would have stopped, Rick, you would have stopped," Kate had no doubt about that, but she could see reluctance in Castle to believe that.

"I took something from you that night; the trust you had in me that I would never hurt you like that." He was tortured and words to assuage him eluded her. All Kate could do was stay with him and hear his confession, "Burke helped me see what I had done, but what I figured out after I left his office was that what happened had also saved me; saved us."

"Saved us?" Kate searched his words and face for answers.

"I wanted to forgive you, but I couldn't. I was so immersed in my anger and resentment at your betrayal that I didn't see how I ever could, but…" he was ripping himself apart.

"But what...," Kate was just as torn.

His eyes touched hers, "I know what happened hurt you. How could it not? It was no less a betrayal than the one I held against you. Maybe mine was even more unforgiveable Kate, but what you gave me the moment I asked for it in the van changed everything."

She was trying to comprehend what he was telling her, "What was it I gave you?"

"Forgiveness," Castle was desperate for her to understand. "What right did I have to withhold my forgiveness when you offered yours so freely to me after what I did?"

Kate slipped her arms around his back and pressed her face to his chest, "Castle."

"I was on the way back from Burke's when the anger began dropping away and I was able to see you again and not just what I felt you had done to me," the truth in his words freed the last of the pain that he had been holding trapped inside, and he drew the first deep cleansing breaths he had taken in months.

Kate did recall that he had been different; that he had softened toward her when he had returned to the precinct that day. It had indeed been a turning point for them.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her as closely as he could, "I'm so sorry that I hurt you and damaged your trust in me, but I don't know if anything short of what happened that night could have broken through that wall of anger I had built to keep you out."

This wasn't how Kate had expected this conversation to go, but she instinctively knew that the path it had taken had been the right one in that it allowed that night to become more than the desperate acts of two people incited by different yet equally desperate motivations. A moment that could have irrevocably separated them ended up providing a catalyst for the very thing that would restore them to one another; absolute forgiveness.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Seconds, minutes or hours later they left the office; neither knew which. Castle took Kate's hand in his and led her to his bedroom. He stopped beside the bed and kissed her tenderly; Kate relaxing against him not wanting to be anywhere else but where she was.

For the first time in months, the evening quiet of the loft welcomed Castle. His mind had been in a tumult for months, thoughts winding in on one another in a maze that had trapped him; changed him and brought him to the edge.

Standing there with Kate in his arms, he spoke tacitly to her, "When I met you, I knew that you were my one last chance to get it right. I really never thought I was going to find you, and when I did, I was at a complete loss at what to do differently than I had in the past."

"When we met and you came charging through my defenses, I ran and I kept running," the truth emerged from her without effort.

"We were the very definition of dysfunction. Is that what you're saying, Beckett?" his words a gentle ribbing that targeted them both.

Kate laughed acknowledging the perfection of his description. She pulled away enough that she could look into his face, "Castle, when did you really know we had something?"

It was his turn to laugh, "After our first case together when I asked you to dinner."

Kate's face became animated as she easily revisited the same memory having kept it close all of these years, "You mean your offer to be one of my conquests?"

Castle let his hands slide slowly up and down Kate's back as he grinned at her, "There was a moment where you actually considered it."

Kate's expression held no denial, "I have to admit I was tempted. You seemed pretty convinced that it would have been great."

"And wasn't it; eventually?" Castle fished unashamedly.

Kate's hands went to his shoulders as she chuckled, "Yes, Castle, it certainly was."

"But that wasn't the exact moment I knew," Castle continued to tease her.

"Oh, really?" Kate was captured by his storytelling just like she always had been.

"My moment was when you bit your lower lip and whispered in my ear. Do you remember what you said?"

She did remember; she remembered exactly, "And I was right, wasn't I?"

"Yes, you were; I had no idea."

They laughed softly over the shared memory, "How about you? When did you know you couldn't live without me?"

Kate absently bit her lower lip just how Castle described it, "I admit that I was attracted to you early on, but I don't think I let myself think about us being together for a while. There was so much about you that scared me off."

"Are you trying to let me down easy? It's not working," Castle was clearly amused by her attempt to give him a non-answer. "Where's Kate 2.0 when I need her?"

"Alright, alright," Kate knew she wasn't getting out of this one, "It had to be at your ex-girlfriend's wedding."

"Ahh, jealousy; it's a powerful motivator," Castle jumped to the obvious conclusion.

"No, Castle, that wasn't it," Kate corrected him.

"You weren't jealous?" he asked suspiciously.

She shook her head smiling, "Oh, yes, I was jealous, but that wasn't what did it for me."

Castle gazed at her with the question in his eyes, "Well, what then?"

Kate kissed him for a few seconds because she wanted to and it bought her some time to compose her answer, "It's when I knew that you could actually go for someone real."

Castle understood and loved her even more for it,"Someone like you?"

Their lips met in a kiss that shut everything else out; becoming deeper eliciting want as they searched one another. Kate's hands slipped his jacket from his shoulders and before it hit the floor she was expertly releasing the buttons on his shirt. Castle attended her every move; they were deliberate and purposeful. She removed her own jacket and shirt watching his eyes as they followed her.

"Kate," he whispered between kisses.

"Rick," she returned his call for her.

During their next breath they spoke as one; as if they had practiced a million times, "I love you."

The smiles they gifted one another in that moment were in accession to all they had been through together and separately that had led them to this precise juncture; a future together.

Decisions and their fallout; dominoes toppling mindlessly; without pity, one crashing into the next because that is what they do once set in motion. Richard Castle and Katharine Becket found that they were no longer trapped by their predetermined path. The answer had been found where it had always been; in their story. When Castle found his way to forgiveness and Kate her way home; key dominoes vanished from the path breaking the chain setting them free to compose a narrative of their own design; a love story that would keep them side by side; ALWAYS.


	44. Chapter 44 Epilogue

_**Epilogue – this is **__**my ending**__** for "Caskett" – it is an up close look at where they are 3 months after the story ended. **_

Decisions and Dominoes Epilogue – 3 months later – 3 weeks before Christmas

Castle heard the front door close; not because it had been slammed, but because he had been listening for it. A self satisfied smile stole across his face, "Beckett."

The whole apartment was decked out in holiday fare and had been since the day after Thanksgiving. This year, Castle had been inspired by the combination of Bing Crosby's White and Elvis Presley's Blue Christmas. It had turned out to be stunning in its simplicity with white lights, ribbons and ornaments accented throughout with similar accessories in the exact blue aspect that snow takes on in just the right light. What Kate loved most about it was the knowledge that Castle had designed this Christmas wonderland just for her. He had done it all in one day while she was at work; revealing it to her as a surprise when she returned home. Kate had been overwhelmed by the beauty she saw in the room and in him.

"Castle? I'm home," Kate called from the living room heading into the kitchen with the takeout she had picked up for dinner.

The logo on the outside of the bags told Castle that she had gone out of her way to bring home Chinese from his favorite place, but food wasn't foremost on his mind. Kate's back was to him putting the bag on the kitchen counter; he slipped his arms around her waist and alternately kissed and nibbled her neck, "Can I please tell you how much I missed you today?"

Enjoying the sensations his attention to her neck sent throughout her body, Kate turned into him, "Me too. The last couple of weeks without you at work, the days have dragged. The weird ones just aren't as much fun without you; and the ordinary ones are no fun at all."

Castle leaned against her since she was backed up against the kitchen island, "Just one more chapter and I am done with this book; I ship it off to Gina and I'm all yours again."

Words not being enough for Kate to demonstrate how happy she was about that news, she smiled into Castle's eyes and kissed him. At first her kisses were almost playful and languidly soft; it didn't take long for the craving to cloud their thoughts.

Once Kate had his attention sufficiently fastened on her, she slipped from his grasp, "Hungry?"

The double entendre wasn't lost on her writer, "That is an understatement."

His face was flushed and left no doubt exactly what he was hungry for, "You wanna eat out of the cartons or do plates?"

"Cartons," God he loved her for offering that.

Kate demonstrated her agreement by shoving the bag of food toward Castle to unpack while she got them something to drink, "I've been thinking about my apartment."

Castle was opening each culinary surprise and checking its contents with zeal; Kate had selected all of his favorites, "What about it?"

Kate came around with two ice waters and got comfortable on the stool next to him. Castle handed her some chopsticks, "I was wondering what you thought about me putting it on the market."

Castle had just stuffed a huge bite of ribs into his mouth and it took him a minute before he could speak, "You mean as a rental property?"

Kate shook her head, "No, I was thinking about selling."

Castle's face must have reflected his surprise, "Bad idea?"

He shook his head vigorously, "No, not at all, you just caught me off guard. What brought this on?"

Kate snagged the bite of ribs Castle was holding with his chopsticks for herself, "Can you think of a reason we might need to keep it?"

Castle wondered if he was dreaming; Kate was talking as if this was a decision they needed to make as a couple, "Are you ready to let it go, Kate?"

"Are you?" Kate searched his reaction.

Each of them knew this discussion was about far more than disposing of an apartment they hadn't spent a single night in since they left the safe house. If Kate was ready to sell; she was making yet another declaration that she was all in; you couldn't have one foot out the door if the foot had no place to go. If Castle was ready for her to sell; he was admitting that he believed her.

Castle noticed his bite was gone from his chopsticks and put them on the counter. He gently pushed Kate's hair back behind her ear leaving his hand resting on the side of her face, "Nothing makes me happier than to hear you come through that front door every night and call out that you're home."

"You're here, so I am home," she didn't have to search for that response; there was no greater truth for her now.

Castle allowed the meaning in her words to linger between them before he spoke, "I know a great realtor; he could have it sold before the New Year. I can call him first thing tomorrow."

Kate fed Castle off her chopsticks and followed the bite with a quick kiss sealing the deal, "Speaking of the holidays, I was thinking that it might be fun to have a Christmas party."

Castle's face lit up like it always did at the mention of Christmas, "Really? All of this getting you in the holiday spirit?"

His pure joy at the thought charmed her, "Yeah, last year we were still trying to figure things out. I thought this year we could invite some friends and our families here and show off this spectacular winter wonderland you've created for us."

"So, we'd be throwing this shindig as a couple?" Castle was just making sure he wasn't misunderstanding Kate's intentions.

"It's time we start a few traditions of our own, Castle," Kate's assurance increased his excitement.

Castle looked like a little boy planning his letter to Santa, "This year there will be presents!"

Kate laughed, "Oh, yes there will be and just like Valentine's Day; mine will be the best."

Castle's countenance became a little abashed at the reminder, "You only won that one so easily because I gave your gift to another woman; accidentally."

Kate's teasing look let him know that she hadn't forgotten, but that didn't put him off, "I know mine will be the best because I already have it planned."

Kate feigned shock, "What if we had decided not to give each other presents again this year?"

"Oh, you were getting a gift this year; even if I had to make you take it," Castle's odd expression indicated that he knew what he said didn't come out quite right.

"I have some ideas of my own, Castle; and I'm feeling pretty confident," knowing how he loved a challenge, Kate couldn't resist poking the tiger.

"I have been studying you Detective Beckett and I think I have cracked the gift giving code," Castle's mad scientist impersonation needed work, but Kate found it sweet.

Kate stood and laced her arms around Castle's neck while moving her body in between his thighs, "Speaking of gifts, if you'll come with me to the bedroom, I have a little something for you."

Kate kissed his lips using her tongue to part them; their mouths moving through motions that generated heat for a few seconds before she stepped away from him, "A gift? I want a gift, Beckett." Castle almost fell off the stool following her.

As Kate disappeared into their bedroom she was topless and she was slipping her pants over her hips, "Come on Castle, if you want to finish unwrapping your present."

Castle not only followed, but managed to get rid of most of his clothes before he reached the door, "I really like presents."

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Kate was in the kitchen making coffee for herself and Castle when there was a knock at the door. She was still in a night shirt and shorts, but she had a pretty good idea who it was.

"Katherine, its Martha, is it too early?"

Kate smiled opening the door, "Of course not, Martha, come in. Thank you for coming by this morning."

Martha blew into the room with a purpose, "Of course, you said it was important. Katherine, is Richard up yet?"

Kate closed the door and followed Martha into the room, "He's in the shower. Why don't you come and have some coffee with me and we can talk while you wait for him?"

Martha had moved out of the loft on her own once she realized that her son and Kate were giving their relationship one last shot. She hadn't entirely supported the idea at first, but Martha sure wasn't going to be a reason why it didn't work out. After getting past the first few days on her own, she found the move and the independence it provided liberating; particularly where her social life was concerned. The new place was only minutes away and landed her squarely in between her two favorite people; Alexis and her son.

Martha accepted Kate's offer and followed her into the kitchen, "The place looks positively captivating."

Kate poured and handed Martha her coffee, "It does, doesn't it? Rick did a fantastic job."

Martha leaned in toward Kate who still stood across the island from where she had taken a seat on one of the barstools, "He started planning this for you the day after Halloween."

"Castle loves his holidays; especially when he gets to play dress up," Kate and Martha shared a laugh.

"Speaking of holidays, Rick and I have decided to have a Christmas party this year," Kate was a little nervous. She and Martha had come a long way in the last few months, but the easy communication they had before was slow in returning.

Martha looked at Kate surprised, "Really? Here at the loft?"

Kate nodded, "It was my idea."

"Good for you. I bet Richard was thrilled by that," Martha had to give the girl credit; she was clearly trying.

"You'll come?" Kate was hopeful.

Martha got up from her stool and walked around to Kate, "Of course, I'll come. I wouldn't miss it."

Kate hugged Martha happily, "Thank you, Martha."

Martha drew back from the hug but left her hands resting on Kate's upper arms, "If any two people have earned happiness, Kate, it's you and Richard."

Kate had one more question for her, "Alexis and I are meeting for lunch today on campus between classes. I would really love for you to join us."

Martha allowed her surprise at the invitation to play across her face, "You and Alexis having lunch? I'd say that's progress."

Kate tried to hide the smile brought on by the backhanded compliment, "Is she helping with the party?"

"That's the plan and I could really use your help too," Kate's voice entreated.

Before Martha could give Kate an answer, Castle entered the room.

"Well, look who's here? Mother, did they already kick you out of your new place after that last noise complaint?" Castle strode up where the two women stood talking and kissed his mother on the cheek and Kate on the lips.

Kate deflected Castle's jibe for Martha, "We have our first RSVP for the Christmas party."

"That's interesting when we haven't even set a date for it yet. Mother, is your social calendar on the downward swing?" Castle's good mood was aimed directly at his mother.

"My social calendar is none of your concern, Richard, but I will have you know that last night…"

"La la la la la, I can't hear you," Castle cut her off anticipating that the details she was about to share would require more time with Dr. Burke.

Kate had been enjoying their verbal sparring, "Don't listen to him. The party is Friday, December 20th at 7:30."

Castle shot Kate an amused grin, "I'm not sure I like this; you're siding with my mother against me."

Kate and Martha locked eyes, "There's more where that came from buster."

"She's right, Castle. The women in your life kind of have your number," Kate joined in on the teasing while stepping into his embrace.

Martha watched them interact affectionately. She knew that her son loved Kate with his whole heart and she was beginning to believe that Kate felt the same for him. What she saw gave her hope that this time around Richard would get the relationship with Beckett he wanted; she could see the possibilities. They had been to hell and back together and somewhere along the way, they had turned into grownups; and that was a very good sign.

"You two are beautiful together," Martha grabbed her handbag from the counter and headed for the door. As she pulled the door open she called without looking back, "Katherine, text me the lunch details. And Richard my RSVP is a yes for a plus one."

Castle's eyes followed his mother until the door shut behind her, "Of course it is."

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Castle's euphoric rush was energizing. The book was done and right on time. The moment it was out of his hands, and arriving in Gina's inbox at the publishing company, he was on the phone to his party planner. He needed invitations for the Christmas party designed, printed, and ready for hand delivery today.

Castle looked over the guest list they had come up with after he had finished opening his present the night before; he had actually unwrapped it a couple of times last night and once this morning. Remembering that made him think about her; he couldn't help but smile.

Besides family and the gang from the 12th, they had decided to include the mayor and Castle's poker buddies. At such short notice during the holiday season, he wasn't certain if any of them would be able to make it, but the invitation would ensure they knew he wanted them there.

Castle had told the planner exactly how he wanted the invitations done; the blue and white design tied in perfectly with the holiday décor of the loft. Glancing at his watch, he realized that the invitations would be ready by the time he got across town to get them. It was time to spread a little holiday cheer.

After picking them up, Castle messengered invitations to James Patterson and the rest of his poker buddies. He did keep the mayor's invitation thinking that a hand delivery would be a nice touch and decided that would be his first stop. After all, if the mayor hadn't used his influence with Montgomery and Gates to allow him to shadow Kate, this party wouldn't even be happening.

Castle breezed into the mayor's office, "Is he in?"

The mayor's secretary stood up to greet him, "Mr. Castle, it's so good to see you. Yes, Mayor Weldon is here, but he's in a meeting."

Castle was slightly disappointed to have to just leave the invitation, "Is it going to be a long one?"

"I really couldn't say," she answered. "Could I give him a message for you?" she had clearly seen the envelope in Castle's hand.

He looked at it wondering if he would have time to come back and try again later, "I think I will just…"

The door to the inner office opened and out stepped the mayor and Kate, "Kate? What are you doing here?"

"She was looking for a judge to sign a warrant and we ran into each other on the stairs and decided to talk about your sorry poker skills behind your back," the mayor answered for Kate not wanting to miss a chance to take a shot at Castle.

Castle reached out and shook hands with his friend, "Bob, if I recall correctly, last time we played I cleaned you out with an inside straight."

"That was me. I cleaned the mayor out with an inside straight," Kate's tone was matter of fact, but her eyes danced with amusement.

"Ahh, yes, well, I knew someone did," Castle couldn't help but laugh at himself.

"What are you doing here, Castle?" Kate crossed to him and kissed him on the cheek as his arm slid around her waist.

His face brightened, "Mr. Mayor, I, I mean we, Kate and I, are having a Christmas party and we wanted to invite you and the wife to join us."

As Castle was handing over the invitation the mayor responded, "Kate was just telling me about that. I phoned the wife and it just so happens that the 20th opened up for us this morning."

"So you'll come?" Castle was elated.

"Wouldn't miss it," he confirmed. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I have some internet research to do."

Kate smiled at the mayor and looped her arm through Castle's and pulled him out the door, "Let's go, Castle."

"That's just so great! I figured that he would be booked up for the holidays months in advance," Castle chattered away.

"What are you doing running around with invitations? Shouldn't you be finishing your book? I'm expecting Gina to start calling me any minute," Kate was serious.

"The book is in Gina's hands as we speak; well, at least the metaphorical hands of her inbox," he explained still beaming.

Kate hugged him warmly in relief, "You made your deadline? No angry phone calls from your ex-wife?"

"I did and no. I think it was the present you gave me last night. Maybe I need more presents like that," Castle wasn't completely kidding. "Writer's thrive on extrinsic motivation and positive reinforcement."

Kate laughed out loud as they headed down the stairs, "I have to get back to the precinct. Are you going to continue with your invitation safari?"

"I have a couple more here to deliver and then I am going to try and find us a caterer," he laid out the next few hours of his day.

"Why don't I take the precinct invites, Lanie's and my dad's," Kate thought it was only logical.

Castle looked slightly disappointed, "You like hand delivering the invitations, don't you?"

"It's Christmas, Kate. Magic happens this time of year," Castle's energy was infectious.

At the bottom of the stairs, she kissed him, "Be a good boy and maybe there will be a little magic for you when I get home."

Castle watched her walk away and didn't get on with the business at hand until she was out of sight.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Kate really wanted this Christmas party to be special, so she was excited when everyone she invited from the precinct accepted the invitation; even Gates.

"Co-hosting a party with Castle, Beckett?" Kevin's tone held a very thinly veiled taunt.

"Yeah, so?" Kate eyed Javi figuring he wouldn't be able to resist joining in.

"That's pretty domestic," Javi followed Kevin's lead. "What's next? You going to bring in homemade cookies?"

Espo and Ryan laughed and cut up while Beckett glared at them, "No, but I could see to it that you two funny men end up on weekend duty for Christmas Eve and day."

"We're good, Beckett. I'll bring in some cookies myself tomorrow. What kind should I make?" Kevin had no intention of explaining to Jenny why he was on Christmas drunk patrol.

"I think it's great you two are throwing a party together," Espo back pedaled. "I can't wait; really, I'm literally counting the days."

"That's what I thought," Kate turned away from them trying to keep a straight face. She really hadn't minded them teasing her about the party, but she saw no reason they had to know that.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

In a flurry of activity the day of the party arrived. Around 1:00 people began pouring through the doors. There were flower deliveries, supplies for the bar, food for the chef Castle had hired, and gifts; lots and lots of gifts for all of their friends and family.

Around 5:00 Alexis and Martha arrived with their party clothes in garment bags, "Richard?"

"I know, Mother, take these up to Alexis' room," anticipation was always a part of the game with Martha.

"You're such a dear. Katherine? Where is Katherine?" Martha drifted away looking for Kate.

Alexis followed her dad upstairs even though he was carrying both bags, "Hey, Dad?"

Castle hung the bags in the closet and turned to face his daughter, "Yeah?"

"You're happy, right?" Alexis sounded like his little girl.

Castle dropped down on her bed and patted the spot next to him, "Very."

Alexis rested her head on his shoulder genuinely happy to hear him say that, "This is kind of a big deal; you and Beckett throwing a party together and selling her apartment."

"She told you about that, huh?"

Alexis nodded, "Makes everything seem more real."

"Yes, that's true," Castle didn't think he had heard what was really on her mind yet.

"I love you, Dad," Alexis stared hard at her father as if she were looking for something.

"I love you too," he kissed her forehead knowing there was more.

Alexis looked serious, but happy, "Come on, kid, it's Christmas. Did you see all those presents down there?"

Her face broke into a smile, "What did you get Beckett?"

"You are going to have to be surprised with everyone else," Castle was determined that his surprise would not be revealed prematurely. "I'm not telling."

"Oh, come on," Alexis used a pleading voice that used to work when she was ten.

Castle jumped to his feet, "Oh, that is not fair. Reverting back to the ever popular "tween" whine known to work on fathers 79.2% of the time."

Alexis laughed at her father and any remaining anxiety she had disappeared, "I'm really glad you're happy; that you and Beckett are happy."

Castle knew that finding common ground with Beckett had been difficult for Alexis since Kate had come back from DC, but they seemed to be making real progress lately. They had been to lunch several times, he had come home and found them together planning the party multiple evenings, and they had even been on several shopping excursions.

"Thank you for working on your relationship with Beckett. It means a lot to me," Alexis knew when her father was being sincere.

"She loves you dad; we both do," that admission told Castle that everything between the two key women in his life was going to be okay.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

Castle was ready before anyone else. The suit he had tailored for the occasion was a deep navy which he had paired with a white shirt and tie. He hadn't seen Kate's dress, but he knew that it would incorporate the white and blue Christmas theme of the party.

Just before 7:30 when the first guests would arrive, Martha and Alexis entered the room together. Alexis wore a stunning cobalt blue knee length dress with a mesh-inset bodice and an A-line skirt. Martha had gone with a paler blue lace fit dress that flared at the hemline. Castle was captivated by their elegance and touched that they had both chosen shades of blue.

"Dad?" Alexis called his name but was looking over his shoulder toward the bedroom door.

Castle followed her gaze. When his eyes found Kate standing there, he knew what the writers of epic love stories were talking about when they detailed how the love between a man and a woman had brought whole civilizations crashing down.

Kate stayed in the doorway assessing Castle's response to her.

"Richard, don't just stand there ogling the poor girl," Martha nudged him as she took Alexis with her to the kitchen to check on the chef's progress.

Castle crossed to Kate and took both her hands in his, "You look exquisite." His voice was laden with emotions brought on by his reaction to the sight of her. The white strapless lace dress had a sweetheart neckline and fit her so beautifully that it created a silhouette of her figure. She wore diamond teardrop stud earrings and a matching pendant; he recognized them immediately as belonging to his mother.

Her smile was equally radiant, "You're not so bad yourself, Castle."

The doorbell rang, "You ready?"

Kate took a deep breath and linked her hand through the arm he extended, "Let's do this."

For the next half hour, Kate and Rick greeted the arrival of each of their guests as a couple. Castle was particularly gratified that James Patterson, Dennis Lehane and Michael Connelly all had managed to make it with their wives. For all the crap they had given him on many poker nights about the role his muse was really playing in his life, tonight they would see how good they were together.

As Castle looked around, he couldn't help thinking about how lucky he was. Kate was across the room involved in an animated conversation with the mayor, his wife and Jim. His mother and daughter were chatting with Javier and Lanie; who had actually come together. Kevin and Jenny were talking with Gates, her husband and the Patterson's about something they all obviously found amusing. He didn't think it could get any better than this moment.

The doorbell rang again and Castle signaled to Kate who was still across the room with the mayor that he had it, "I have a delivery for Mr. Richard Castle."

Castle celebrated just a little, "Yes!"

"Mr. Castle, could I have your autograph for my mom? It would be an awesome Christmas present for her. She reads all your stuff," the kid's gaze kept skipping back and forth between Castle and the party goers behind him.

"Sure, what's your mom's name?" Castle took the paper the kid offered up and signed it Merry Christmas Edna from Rick Castle.

Kate appeared at his side, "What cha got there, Castle?"

Castle held tightly to the box being sure to cover the name of the sender, "Nothing, nothing you need to worry about, Beckett."

Kate smiled knowingly, "Wouldn't have something to do with my Christmas present would it?"

Still covering the box, Castle tipped the delivery boy and closed the door, "I'm feeling pretty confident, just so you know."

"Is that so? I guess we'll see, won't we?" Kate wandered away to mingle with the guests leaving Castle to ponder the situation.

"I've got this. I've so got this," Castle was completely certain; well, almost completely certain.

When Castle came back from putting his present in the gift box he had stashed in his office, he noticed that Kate, her father, Martha and Alexis had their heads together over by the windows. He wondered what was going on since it didn't look like a normal party conversation. Something was definitely up.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Castle asked as he joined the group.

Every face looked like a teenager who had just been busted after curfew, "Nothing, Dad, we were just admiring the decorations. You really outdid yourself this year."

Jim tried to help Alexis out, "Katie tells me you did all this as a surprise for her, Rick."

Jim's comment effectively distracted Castle, but only a little, "I did, Jim. I was hoping to lure her into the Christmas spirit early this year."

"She says you're a big fan of the holidays," as Jim spoke everyone else in the group drifted away.

Not wanting to be rude to his girlfriend's father, Castle stayed but he couldn't help watching them scurry away, "Yes, I am. When I was a kid, my mother always made it a great time for us no matter the circumstances we might find ourselves in."

The two men then found themselves staring at one another in a silence that got more uncomfortable the longer it went on.

After Castle managed to get politely away from Jim, he decided that it was time to surprise Kate with her present. He simply couldn't wait any longer. He retrieved the white box with the blue ribbon from his office and stood in the middle of the room in front of the Christmas tree, "Could I have everyone's attention?" It took a few seconds, but it wasn't long before all of their guests had gathered round.

"Kate, could you come up here with me please?" Castle was grinning from ear to ear.

Kate smiled at him and handed her cell phone which she happened to have in her hand to Alexis before she joined him, "I want to thank all of you for being here with me and Kate tonight. This year has been one of the most challenging and rewarding I've ever experienced. As most of you know, I almost lost everything this year; including my life. As tough as that experience was, it taught me so much about myself. I learned what it meant to be able to truly forgive and to accept the forgiveness of another. I now understand the healing power of truth and open communication. I just don't think I would be standing here tonight if it wasn't for the love of my best friend, partner and girlfriend."

Castle took a breath and turned to Kate, "I want to give you your Christmas present tonight, Kate."

Kate raised an eyebrow, but didn't object, "I know I can be a little slow to pick things up sometimes, but I've learned that the way to your heart is to give from the heart."

Kate glanced at Alexis who shook her head slightly, "Castle, I'm going to love whatever you got me."

"I really wanted to do something special for our first gift giving Christmas; something that would tell the world how I feel about you," Castle's eyes were glowing with energy. "Merry Christmas, Kate," he told her softly as he handed her the box.

The crowd in the room seemed to surge forward wanting to see what Castle had done for her. Kate slipped the ribbon off the box and opened it. Everyone could tell from her expression that she was both surprised and delighted with what was inside. "Castle," her emotional reaction to his gift betrayed by the tremor in her voice.

Castle's excitement grew watching her, "You like it?"

"Oh, Rick, I can't believe you did this," Kate stared into his eyes trying to find the words to convey what she was feeling.

Martha couldn't help herself, "For goodness sake, Katherine, what is it?"

The guests laughed softly at Martha's prompting, but all felt the same way she did, "Castle's new book; Killer Heat."

Kevin let out a cry, "Yes! Nikki and Jameson are back!" More laughter filled the space.

Kate was overwhelmed. They had never talked about the end of the Nikki Heat series. In fact, Kate had not been able to bring herself to read Federal Heat knowing he had closed out the series with it; afraid of the ending that in his anger and hurt he had constructed for their alter egos.

"This is an amazing gift. You really do know me," Kate took the book out of the box and showed the cover to their audience. For the first time in the series, silhouettes of both Rook and Heat were on the cover. He had chosen to continue the story; their story.

"Read the dedication," Javi requested knowing how personal each one of them had been in all of Castle's other novels.

"May I?" Castle took the book from Kate. She couldn't take her eyes off of him.

Castle spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear, but he was talking only to her, "For Katherine, the one who made all of the love songs make sense."

The crowd erupted into applause; Castle and Kate took that moment to share a kiss, "They really do make sense now."

With their foreheads touching and using only a whisper Castle asked, "So, did I win?"

Before Kate could answer, Alexis was at her side showing her what Castle assumed was a text message, "Perfect."

Castle was curious, "What's perfect?"

"It's my turn, Castle," the intensity of her smile let him know that the competition wasn't over.

"Everyone, I am so glad you are all here today to celebrate Christmas with us. There's no better time to recognize the importance of family and friends," Kate began. "There are people in our lives that are a constant presence who guide and advise us day to day and year to year; their impact on who we are undeniable. But there are others who touch our lives just as deeply even though they may just be passing through or are there for us in our time of greatest need; contributions whose impact may never be fully realized."

"Kate?" Castle began scouring the room wondering if it was possible.

"I want to introduce you all to a very special guest, Jackson Hunt; Castle's father," the room broke into applause and everyone was looking around for the mystery guest.

Castle saw him standing at the back of the room; Alexis on one arm, Martha on the other.

"You did this for me? But how?" Castle was incredulous and swelling with gratitude at the same time, but he didn't want to leave her.

"Castle, go," Kate whispered her assent for him to welcome his father.

The two men met in an embrace in the center of the guests. Kate stood back giving Castle and his father the moment that she had wanted and planned for them. She watched Castle proudly introduce his father to his friends and celebrate his unexpected arrival. She had to turn away from them to gain control over her own emotional response to their reunion.

Martha sidled up to Kate, "This why you discouraged me from bringing a plus one to this soiree?"

Alexis arrived to join them somewhat breathless interrupting Kate's response, "Thank you for bringing my grandfather here. Look at, Dad."

"He looks happy, doesn't he?" Kate said to them unable to stop watching them interact.

"Well, this party is just getting started," Martha foretold. "I'm getting some champagne before Act II."

Alexis' kept hanging around as though she had something she wanted to say, "Kate?"

Hearing the anxiety in her voice, Kate gave Alexis her undivided attention, "Is everything okay?"

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Alexis declared openly.

Kate instinctively knew what this was about, "You don't owe me an apology."

"Yes, I do. I said some really horrible things to you when you came back," she admitted.

"I did some things to deserve them," Kate wasn't just trying to let her off easy; she meant it.

"I guess I just want you to know that I'm good with it now; with you and my dad being together," Alexis was offering her blessing.

Kate smiled at her warmly, "That means a lot to me, Alexis, and it will to your father too."

Alexis smiled back at her and then found her father and grandfather in the crowd, "I'm going to go and say hi."

Kate hugged her and Alexis returned the embrace, "Merry Christmas, Kate."

Kate watched her go calling after her, "Merry Christmas, Alexis."

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

It had been almost an hour since Hunt's introduction to the party goers and Castle was still working his way back to Kate with Jackson Hunt. Between the mayor and Castle's fellow writers and poker buddies, there had been plenty of greetings, good natured ribbing and storytelling to go around.

Lanie took the opportunity to corner Kate, "Why do I get the feeling that there is a whole lot more to this story?"

Kate glanced at Lanie knowing it was pointless to try and evade, "Because there is."

"Uhhh huh, I knew there was more going on during the Tyson case than you were telling Kate Beckett," Lanie's accusation was malice free.

"Plausible deniability?" Kate threw it out there, but wasn't terribly hopeful it would stick.

Lanie started to react, but then thought better of it, "You know, when I was locked down for a couple of days in the morgue during that whole thing, it was kind of nice to not know the answers to any of the questions about where you two were or what you were up to."

"See? Plausible deniability can be a good thing," Kate couldn't believe she was getting off so easily.

Javi arrived at his date's side, "That was pretty cool, Kate, bringing in Castle's pops."

Lanie transferred her attention to Espo, "You knew about this man and you didn't tell me?"

Kate laughed and gave Javi an apologetic look as they walked away, "Lanie, it was need to know."

"Who says you decide what I need to know Javier Espositio?" Kate could tell that Lanie was going to have a little fun with this one before she let it go.

When Kate turned back to her guests, Castle and Hunt were heading for her, "Hey, kid, you look beautiful."

"You're looking pretty nice yourself," Kate hugged him warmly noting that Hunt wore a navy suit not much different from Castles and a white tie.

"I have to say, getting my dad here, that's a pretty amazing gift," Castle reached out and took her hand with a smile that was contagious within ten feet.

"You're welcome Castle, but that wasn't your gift," Kate's delivery was perfect.

Castle was stunned, "This wasn't my Christmas present?"

Kate shook her head, "No, it's not."

Just then Mayor Weldon walked up to Kate, "I'm ready when you are."

Castle watched Kate's response, "I'm ready."

The mayor called the room back to attention, "I know we've already had a couple of great surprises tonight, but the night is not over. Kate?"

Kate took a moment to visually find Lanie, Alexis, Martha, her dad and Hunt. The five were standing together just a few feet away smiling at her, "Castle, five years ago you came into my life and turned everything upside down. At first you drove me crazy, but after a while I couldn't imagine my days without you and realized that I looked forward to going to work each day because I knew you would be there." Kate paused briefly, "And then I fell in love with you, but I couldn't admit it to myself or you. I knew I had feelings for you long before I could voice them. I let so many chances to tell you slip away over the years, but that's not going to happen today."

Kate's smile was beautifully tenuous, "Richard Edgar Castle, will you marry me?"

Castle was lucky that the reaction of the guests gave him several seconds to process what had just happened. Their surprise and excitement at the proposal second only to his, "Kate, there's nothing…absolutely nothing I want more than to be your husband."

"Is that a yes, son?" Hunt interjected.

"Yes, it's a definite yes," Castle and Kate kissed passionately and their guests showed their appreciation with loud cheers and applause.

Kate had waited until the noise died down. "I've just got one more question for you."

Castle didn't interrupt her, but she could tell he was nervous at this point, "Will you marry me tonight here in front of all of our family and friends?"

"Right now?" Castle looked at his mother, Alexis, their fathers and Lanie to confirm that this was no surprise to them.

"What do you say, Castle?" she bit her lower lip anticipating his answer.

"We don't have a minister or a license," everyone could tell he was reeling with the enormity and surprise of the moment.

The mayor interrupted, "It just so happens I am a newly ordained minister. It's amazing what you can do on the internet these days."

Castle made the connection, "That was the research you had to do the day I dropped off the invitation."

"And I got the judge to sign a waiver for the waiting period," Kate adeptly took out his other argument.

"All you have to do is say yes to the lady and sign on the dotted line my friend," Weldon challenged him.

Castle's face cycled through a full range of emotions in only a few seconds before answering, "I'm so in. Let's get married!"

Again celebration took over the room. It took some time to restore enough calm for the mayor to begin the ceremony. Alexis and Martha hugged Castle warmly, "I'm happy for you, dad," Alexis told him truthfully.

"Me too, darling; I have to say, it's about time," Martha showed her support by being herself.

Without a single rehearsal, everyone seemed to know right where to be. Hunt stood beside his son as best man with Ryan and Espo stepping up as groomsmen even though they had been kept in the dark about the proposal. Kate had asked Alexis to be her maid of honor solidifying a bond she hoped would carry them through many years together as the most important women in Richard Castle's life. Lanie and Martha stood beside Alexis as bridesmaids; Kate couldn't have been happier.

Jim walked his daughter down a make shift aisle giving her hand to a man whom he was confident not only deserved her, but would protect and love her for the rest of their days.

Just before the ceremony began, Alexis slipped something into her father's hand. It was a platinum women's wedding band. He noticed the inscription immediately and smiled – it said _**Always 12.20.13**_ Later, he would find that his matching men's band was a reflection of hers.

The ceremony was brief, but the outcome the same as any other. After allowing Castle to kiss his bride, the mayor presented for the first time to those assembled Mr. and Mrs. Richard Castle.

The next hour was a whirlwind. Kate and Rick mingled with their guests; never letting go of one another's hand and meeting eyes every few minutes; neither quite believing they were actually married. There was wedding cake, lots of champagne and the photographer who had been hired to shoot the Christmas party took on the role of wedding photographer without missing a beat.

When the couple finally got a moment to themselves, Castle pulled her close, "A surprise wedding; I'm not sure I will ever be able to beat that Mrs. Castle."

Kate rested her head on his chest, "That wasn't your present either."

He backed up enough so she would have to look at him, "You're kidding me."

The Christmas party that became a wedding still wasn't done, "No, still not it."

All Castle could do was stare at her stunned that there could possibly be something else, "Would you like your present now?"

He nodded avidly, "I can't imagine how anything could be better than what you've given me already."

Kate went to get his gift while Castle gathered their friends for one last surprise, "My wife tells me that she still hasn't given me my Christmas present yet. After everything that's happened tonight, I'm a little scared." Everyone laughed.

Castle looked around the room and none of the faces seemed to possess any more information about what might be coming than he did. When Kate came back, she had a white gift box wrapped in blue ribbon that was about the size of a piece of computer paper. Castle couldn't imagine what might be inside.

Kate's expression was reflective of her love for him, "Merry Christmas, Castle."

Castle gently pulled the ribbon from the box and hesitated before opening it. When he did, his eyes fell to what he could see beneath the tissue paper. It was a platinum frame and he could just make out the inscription along the bottom. Like their rings; it simply said _**ALWAYS**_.

He looked up at her as he was lifting his gift from the box. She was smiling at him in a way that he was certain she never had before and when he looked back at the frame, he knew why, "Kate." The man of words was at a complete and total loss, so he did the only thing that he could think of in response to the news and reached his hand out and placed it on Kate's stomach. She covered his hand with hers confirming the question in his eyes.

The significance of the interaction between the newlyweds spread quickly across the room and celebration resumed.

"How long have you known?" Castle had kneeled down in front of Kate and had both hands on her stomach.

Kate's eyes blurred as she gazed down at him, "I just found out for certain a couple of weeks ago. I had my suspicions though before that. I can't tell you how hard it was not to tell you right away, but I wanted it to be my gift to you for Christmas."

"I'm going to be a dad again," he seemed to be saying it aloud to make it more real. "How far along are you?"

"About 15 weeks," Kate met his eyes knowing what he was thinking.

"Who knew before tonight?" Castle was curious.

"It's our baby. I wasn't going to tell anyone before I told his father," Kate gently stroked his hair.

"A boy? We're having a son?" Kate hadn't realized that Castle could be any more excited.

"That's what the doctor said and he seemed pretty certain after viewing the sonogram," Kate couldn't believe how perfectly the night had gone.

Castle got to his feet trying to wrap his mind around the events of the evening. He felt as if he had received a lifetime of blessings in one night. He was surrounded by the best of friends and his family for Christmas, he had married the woman of his dreams, his father had come home, and he had just found out that he was having a son.

As he held Kate at his side, receiving congratulations from the most important people in his world, Castle couldn't help thinking how differently this could all have played out. It had all boiled down to one thing; his decision to forgive and her decision to stop running. Who would have thought that happiness could be just that simple?

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

On May 30th, 2014, birth announcements went out to every single guest from the Christmas party welcoming Beckett Alexander Castle into the world at 7 pounds 3 ounces.

Even though it may seem the story has come to its end; in truth it has finally just begun.


End file.
